Raider
by Rolaplayor101
Summary: Season 6 was a blast and now you want to see how the story ends, but you also kinda wish you were there. But you also don't want to date any of the Voltron paladins because they are your sons/daughters/child and the very thought of being in a romantic relationship disgusts you. Well, how about you just befriend them all, instead? For my bestie's birthday, sorry I'm late XD
1. Shipwrecked

Meta platonic x reader, my dudes. Wrote this for my friend's birthday and because I wanted a platonic X reader and could not find one. Should update once a week! gender neutral reader. Enjoy?

* * *

"Hey, you guys, what's that?" Lance's smooth, orotund voice asked over the lions comms.

The four paladins and three standbys looked out into the void of space through their lions eyes. It's been a few days since the Shiro and Lotor blow out and they've been stuck in their lions, flying from planet to planet each day to get some rest every night and do recon. At the moment, they were on patrol looking for any discrepancies. Lance was the first to spot it, between all the rubble of the dust-ridden planet. The planet had debris in orbit surrounding it, and the old rock looked so worn down that it could rival the planet Daibazaal, which was fully destroyed only a few days earlier.

The paladins struggled to see it at first, but they did and Pidge, the smallest and greenest of the group, gasped.

"It's a ship," Pidge noticed. Their voice left the paladins ears ringing. The green paladin had a habit of screaming into the comms, as if no one else could be able to hear them perfectly well otherwise.

"It's main frame is offline. Probably why we didn't get any emergency signal from it." Hunk, the yellow paladin, assessed from his hold.

"Do you think there's anyone inside?" asked Allura, the princess of a supposedly "long gone" race of Alteans and the destroyed planet of Altea. That is, if thousands of Alteans hadn't been found hidden in a forbidden section of the galaxy.

"Well, there wasn't any wrecked ship when we passed by here a few days ago," Krolia said from behind her son, Keith, the black paladin of Voltron. The jet black-haired kid assessed the shipwreck. He had a bad feeling. Or, rather, for some reason, he felt very unsure about approaching it.

"We should check it out!" Coran said from behind Allura in his naturally loud voice. He stroked his ginger mustache as he looked at the readings. "A high magnetic field was coming from the planet. It probably caused a disturbance in that there spaceship!"

"I'll check it out!" Lance announced, excitement in his voice. The seventeen year old Cuban boy was already out of his seat and heading toward the mouth of his lion, quickly turning and squeezing past Kaltenecker, the cow he, for some reason, kept all this time(probably for milkshakes).

"Lance, hold on!" Pidge called, but was, annoyingly, ignored.

Keith let out a exasperated sigh. "I'll go too. Hunk, come with. Everyone else stay here in case something happens."

"On my way." Hunk said as he got up and headed toward the mouth of his lion.

Krolia let Keith by and the young man hesitated only for a second to look at the white haired man on the ground by the entrance. He was sleeping, but his face was scrunched up, eyebrows upturned.

Shiro was having another nightmare.

Keith kept walking forward, passing the other black paladin, the last of the six.

The three paladins opened up the mouth of their lions and floated/hopped over to the crash site. The ship had a large hole where the engine was suppose to be, probably from where it was hit. One by one, Keith, Lance, and Hunk jumped inside.

The hallway they crawled into was dark and small and completely empty aside for the dust particles and small pieces of debris floating through the air. Either no one had been here for a long time, or the people that used to live in here needed to clean more. Lance used his bayard to shine a blue light around the narrow corridor. There was one door at the end where they all assumed was the cockpit. They headed there first.

"Is this place giving anyone else the creeps?" Hunk asked as he trotted along behind Keith and Lance. It was eerily silent. 'I guess there's nothing to really hear in space. Loud breathing probably wouldn't be any better, so there's that.'

Keith reached the door at the end of the hall and nodded at the others in warning. They nodded back, weapons at the ready, and Keith busted the door open.

It was, indeed, the cockpit, small and only fit for about two people. The debris floating through space could be seen clearly through the front screen, and right under it, right smack in the middle, laying back in a chair and barely breathing, if at all, was a human.

Keith rushed to them as the others struggled to fit in. Boxes and their contents, as well as wires, splayed the floor, blocking most of the accessible room. The person was passed out. Keith couldn't tell if they were a boy or a girl based on appearance, but that wasn't the most pressing issue at the moment. He grabbed their wrist and checked for a pulse.

...Weak. It's there, but severely slow.

"Are they ok?" Hunk asked as he finally reached Keith, Lance beside him.

"For now, but not for much longer.." Keith reported, trying to figure out their face. "We can't do anything in here-"

The person gasped awake, immediately breathing hard, eyes searching around the place. Keith was pushed back as the person awoke.

The person…was you.

 _All of us?_ All of you.

"Hey, Hey! Are you ok? Calm down!" Hunk put a hand on your shoulder. You recognized him as soon as you saw him. You could _see him_. You were _in the story_.

 _Are in the story_ , one of you corrected. Or maybe more than one? All of you? All of us?

Oh wait, are you still hyperventilating?

You calm down, at least, physically. Mentally, though, you're a wreck. Sort of. Some of you. Holy crap/fuck! holy crap/fuck! It's Hunk! Hunk from Voltron, your big buff baby! Or..or Hunk might not be one of your favorite characters. Some of you are thinking _how is that even possible, what's wrong with you_? And some of you are thinking _he didn't get enough character development, he's kinda there, I don't care that much about him._

"Are you ok?" Hunk asked, thick brown eyebrows furrowed up in concern under his helmet.

"What's your name?" Keith asked from beside him. _Ooooohhh it's emo boy! It's Texan emo boy!_

"And are you single?" Lance asked, appearing from behind Hunk's right, his flirty smirk on and a hand under his chin.

"Lance!" Keith chastised.

 _Ohmygahohmygahohmygahhhhhh_

You try to speak but all that comes out are squeaks. You try again, nothing. Fuck/chicken nuggets, you can't speak!

"Are you mute?" Keith asked, leaning in closer, hands on his hips.

 _Apparently_. You couldn't say, so you put a hand on your throat and shake your head. _Gosh, at least one of us is mute in real life, so it has to follow us here?_ Curious as to what you look like, seeing as you, at the moment, were more than one person _(like a fusion!_ One of you thought), you looked down at your body to see nothing but a white glowing silhouette.

 _What..the...cheese and rice/hell?_

"We need to get you out of here, can you walk?" Keith drew back your attention, not giving you enough time to process and then possibly promptly panic about your new look. They were acting normal, so obviously they weren't seeing what you were seeing.

Just now getting the question, or at least, all of you having gotten the question, you try to stand up. You succeed. Then you start walking. Then immediately trip, your knees giving out, legs asleep and prickling. Keith and Hunk are quick to help you up, Lance in front of you, arms held out and ready to catch your fall.

"Is anyone else here?" Lance asks.

 _Other than the hundreds of people in my head? Shouldn't be._ You shake your head and blink.

.

And then you're on hard rock ground, surrounded by not just all the paladins of Voltron, but by Krolia and Coran.

 _Another what the fuck/ cheese and rice? What is the author doing? But also I don't see anything wrong with what just happened. Wow, I'm gonna be really indecisive aren't I?_ We, One of you correct. We _are gonna be really indecisive._

"You're a human, right? Do you know how to write in English?" Keith is standing right in front of you, _talking to you_ , as if what just happened didn't just happen. Maybe time only changed for you? Did you just time travel? Is that your power? A good many of you wouldn't have chosen that as your power in a universe like this, but this is cool...you guess?

He's handing you a tablet of paper and a pen. Beside him is a very tired and worn out looking Shiro with white hair. _Oh yeah, I forgot about that_. _Full white hair is so...different...on Shiro._ He notices you looking and smiles softly, but it's so tired a smile that you feel awkward staring for long and have to look away. On Keith's other side is Pidge- _omgmyfaveitspidgeyesssss-_ with their/her arms crossed, and beside her/them is Lance. To your direct right is Allura and Coran. Coran is leaning in and looking at you with intense interest, until you look at him directly and he straightens up and looks away, whistling like you didn't just see him ogling. Hunk is to your left, looking down at you with his bottom lip over his top and eyebrows arched up, waiting for a response. Then you finally notice the cow standing right beside him.

Kaltenecker! The cow moos, as if also impatient. For some reason, you're right smack in the middle of all the lions, on some grey planet that kinda looks like the place Lotor and Zarkon fought.

"Maybe she _doesn't_ know English?" Lance said to Pidge, eyes squinted at you as he said it. Pidge elbowed him.

 _She?_ You thought. _So I look like a girl?_ But instead of thinking on it any longer- how you got here, why you can't talk, whether you look like how all of you really look like- you grab the paper and pen and stare at the blank white paper.

 _I know English, Lance_ , You write.

"Oooh!" Hunk laughs at Lance's frozen expression.

"Would you tell us your name?" Allura walked up from beside you and knelt down, giving you a soft and welcoming expression through beautiful blue and purple eyes. She was wearing her paladin armor and her hair was pulled up in a bun. The white of her hair contrasted beautifully with the darkness of her skin.

You look down at the paper to write, then realize your problem.

 _What's our name?_

 _Do I give them one of our many names? But I can't remember them! Oh shit/shiz, oh shit/shiz!_

"Can you remember?" Allura asked, worry in her soft British-sounding voice.

You look at her and nod, then look back down at the paper. _It would probably be a bad idea to use our real name, anyway, right? However this story goes. A part of me wouldn't use my real name anyway...right?_

 _Come on, us! We got this! Just act normal. Or whatever counts for normal, here._

 _Ugh! Normal! Can't believe I just used that word to describe what I want to be._

 _Come on, self! Focus! You need to come up with a name! And a personality! And...and a past..maybe. Maybe I_ can _pretend to be amnesiac. I mean, I kinda am already, in a way? I'm some kind of fusion of other readers of this fanfic. We don't all know each other._

 _This shouldn't be too hard. Just need to come up with a name._

 _A name...a name…_

 _Oh!_ You mentally snap your fingers, then start to write down a word, a couple of words. When you finish, you show it to everyone.

"Raider? Your name is Raider?" Lance asked as everyone crowded in to get a good look. Seems like everyone was giving you space up until now for some reason.

"Or Reed. Well, nice to meet you, Reed." Hunk smiles from the left, Allura and Coran occupying your right.

You smile and nod back.

 _Reader, Raider? Get it? Read, Reed? Get it?_

"And, if you don't mind me asking, what pronouns do you use?" Pidge asked, light brown eyes wide and almost ginger eyebrows arched in interest.

You and all the other readers took your time to think and come up with a decision. I mean, it only made sense, since you were legitimately a bunch of people in one body at the moment.

 _They/them,_ you wrote. _It's like coming out all over again,_ you thought. _...if I ever did that?_

.

Keith beelined for the other side of the hall, mildly irritated that he had to carry out such a task. The newbie needs to be woken up from their sleep, after all the traveling yesterday to the closest allying planet, bii boh bees or something, the human was given their own room and urged to get some rest. Space travel is exhausting for those who aren't used to it, and especially because they were in a crash with barely any oxygen for who knows how many hours.

Keith was still very suspicious of the reader. Where did they come from? Earth? And if so, how'd they get all the way over here? Keith and the others planned to get some answers as soon as possible, and it should be decidedly easy since Raider knew how to write in English.

Once he reached the room, he knocked twice and called your name. When you didn't answer, he tried again. Nothing. He opened the door and heard more than saw you there. It's not that you were snoring, per se, but you were breathing loudly and whistling. It was so completely dark in your temporary room that the only light came from the open door. The light only reached the bottom half of your bed, for it was carved into the wall and your body was comfortably covered in ruffled blankets, one arm hanging almost over the bed, the other under your head, and your ankles poking out under the blankets.

Keith studied you for a couple of seconds, eyebrows furrowed and a slight frown on his face. "Reed!" he called in a low voice.

"Wha-! Huh…?" You startled awake, head and arm lifting up off the pillow then lowering back down just as quick. You blinked a couple times, getting the drowsiness out of your eyes before realization hit you and you froze up.

"You can talk?"

"I can talk?" You and Keith said in unison. You looked up at him, surprised. Your voice was hoarse and cloudy, going in and out every other syllable.

After that revelation, Keith brings you to what looks to you like a living room, with circular couches carved into the floor. There everyone sat in their normal civilian clothes, aside from Allura. She wore her original royal dress, which feels like you haven't seen in ages. Nowadays she's always wearing her paladin armor.

As soon as you walked in, they all turned to look at you. It suddenly hit you how surreal this is- all the paladins of Voltron _right in front of you._ There's Lance, sitting with his legs wide apart and his arms on the back of the couch/floor, then Hunk, sitting right beside him, straight back, looking back at you, Pidge beside him, looking at you same as everyone else, as well as Shiro, whose arm is crossed over his stomach and practically asleep, as you can tell. He looks _exhausted_ , and the white hair doesn't help. Beside him is Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man, his arms, like Lance, spread out behind him, and his legs crossed over each other. Next to him, finishing the circle, is Allura, both hands neatly in her lap and long white hair flowing down her shoulders. Here they were, all staring at you.

You were given new, clean clothes to wear, but you weren't all there when you put them on, and now that you had them on you couldn't see them. They were enveloped in a white light, just as the rest of your body, but that didn't mean the paladins couldn't see them.

You raised your hand and waved, "Hi," you greet confidently, or awkwardly, honestly with your voice as throaty as it was, it was probably as awkward as it could get.

"You can talk..!" Hunk rose an eyebrow and smiled kindly, like he was just as happy about you not being mute as you were.

"Yeah," you put a hand to your throat as you feel a cough coming on. "Sort of.." Your throat feels scratchy and tickles whenever you speak. Your glad you brought the notepad and pen just in case. _Pidge's notepad and pen!_ You remember.

"That's good," Hunk turns to the others. "That's good, right? Now we can hear what she- I mean they, have to say."

Out of the corner of your eye you see Keith walk forward as Allura says, "Please, come, have a seat."

.

"So you like to be called Reed?" Allura asked.

Nod.

"Do you remember any of what happened before the crash?" Lance asked from beside you. You were sitting far enough that his wingspan didn't reach you. He was a olive skinned boy with a chin as sharp as a blade and eyes like a hawk's- must be why he's the sharpshooter of the group. He's wearing his trademarked moss green jacket and a blue shirt underneath, then some skinny jeans.

You shake your head at his question.

They're all staring at you, it's sorta nerve-wracking to some part of you. Guess social anxiety follows you to even animated universes.

"Do you remember Earth? Your parents? Did you go to the galaxy garrison?"

"I don't know…!" You say, looking at each of them. You note Krolia leaning against the far wall, away from everyone else. Keith moved between Shiro and Pidge. "I mean, I remember Earth, but not how I got here. I never went to the galaxy garrison." _It's better to tell the truth at these points_ , some of you are probably thinking. Other's of you are saying _why would you tell them that?! Idiot!_ "I just...woke up, in that ship, and saw you guys."

"Think space travel messed with their brain somehow?" Lance asked the others.

"Maybe you hit that rock too hard." Hunk said casually.

"Hunk!"

"What? It's just a thought!"

You laugh, and the mood in the room begins to lighten a little bit. "No, no, it was funny." You assure. "Not rolling on the floor, but it did its job."

The paladins and others really weren't sure what to do with you. Before they could continue plunging your mind, bii boh bi came through the entrance, spouting something casually. You had no idea what the little noodle was saying, but it was really cute in its own way.

.

"So, what are we gonna do about Reed?" Hunk's soft, low voice snapped Keith out of his thoughts. He had left soon after Raider had gone with Coran and bii boh bi, just to think for a little while. He stopped in the middle of the long corridor and turned around to look at Hunk who finally caught up to him.

"Why are you asking me?" Keith asked, a little glad to have a distraction.

"Because you're, like, the leader now? Aren't you? I mean, Shiro's still recovering and now that you're back from the Blade of Marmora-"

"I don't know," Keith interrupted. He crossed his arms and looked down towards the hallways corner, thinking. "There's more pressing issues than hi- _them_ being here. I know that we need to get Raider to Earth as soon as possible, but we also need to know what we're going to do with the Alteans."

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Hunk said as if he forgot about that. Those Alteans are still on that planet in the middle of nowhere, with no leader to help them. Now that Lotor's gone, there is no one to take care of them. Romelle was taken back when they had to start traveling around the galaxy searching for rebel Galra troops. They also needed to stop any more Galra officials from taking over. So many things that had been solved with Lotor are now all back to being problems again. They can't go home just yet.

"We can't just leave them in alien care, no matter how much we trust our allies. They wouldn't be able to take being alone here, especially in their state. The problem is, we don't know how long it'll be till we can go home. The best choice here is to have them stay with us, no matter how much we're already struggling."

They've been sleeping on abandoned or ally planets these last couple days. There's barely space in the lions for everyone-Coran, Krolia, Kaltenecker, and all their things are already traveling with them.

"We'll find something out." Hunk assured and patted Keith's shoulder sympathetically.

"Yeah…" Keith trails, then a thought comes to his head. "Where did Coran take Reed anyway?"

.

Coran is a multitasker if there ever was one. After he took you away from the lounge room so the paladins could discuss between themselves about what to do with you, he and bii boh bi brought you to some study room with a desk set against a wall, filled with folders and scrolls and paper not just on top of the desk but on the floor around it. Apparently it was Coran's personal working room. You had no idea how that worked, you were on a completely different planet, one that the paladins didn't seem to visit that frequently, but apparently they had rooms set for everyone here. Apparently the castle for the little noodle things was practically a hotel for Voltron allies, in case of these types of emergencies or live conferences. At this point, everyone in the galaxy knows that Voltron is homeless, so their allies were more than willing to help them out by giving them a few rooms in there royal homes. Pretty nice.

As soon as Coran came in, bii boh bi smacked a large folder full of paper on his chest, said something in his cute little bii boh bi voice, to which Coran perfectly understood, and the noodle just walked out and left. Apparently the folder was a list of planets that were either abandoned that the Alteans could go to, or planets where allies were willing to commit a few thousand. Coran explained this to you as he went through books of the history of most of the offered planets and wrote down the most possible planets for the Alteans to move to. He was a busy body. He danced his way across the small room as you watched from the rolling chair he set you in next to a wall filled to the ceiling with books. He swung around and circled back to the desk, and he's very lean and flexible for a old man, but you guess that hair hasn't turned white for a reason, huh? His hair stays in perfect naturally greased back state as he begins talking about the planets he's known and hasn't when he was a kid, many of which he learned from his grandfather, great grandfather, and great great grandfather.

It goes on for a while. In the millennia that time has passed for him and Allura, there have been many new planets and species formed and created. He says he's in great need of learning history, despite it being almost three years since he's "woken up".

But then he suddenly stops, like he's realised something. "Oh gosh, I have just been going on and on about my family, haven't I? Knowing that _you_ can't even _remember_ your family!"

"Oh, no, it's ok." _I like hearing you talk_.

"No it's not!" He says, then glides over to you on his own two feet over the carpeted floor. He grabs your hands. "It's ok to talk about it. If you're ever feeling alone, all the paladins of Voltron, and me of course, will be with you. There's no need to worry."

You smile, honestly a little joyous. "Thank you, but really, I'm not worried. I trust you guys. I'm a huge fan of Voltron!" _That should be alright to say, yeah? Yeah._

Luckily, Coran doesn't notice anything off about what you just said. He just smiles warmly, eyes closing, and hums.

.

Two weeks pass in the literal blink of an eye, and you find yourself sitting on your bed in a new room. This time skip crap is really disorienting. Your eyes clear up and you are staring ahead at a pearl white wall, the floor is marble and in tiles similar to the pattern of a school floor, and nothing looks like it's been touched aside from the bed your sitting on. The room is small, about three people could fit comfortably. The bed is right against the wall and looks like it was pulled out of it. It probably was. There was nothing outside of the bed in this room. You doubt that your hand couldn't reach the ceiling if you stood up, but you weren't exactly sure how tall you were anyway, because depending on where you stood, your height seemed to change. You felt taller than Keith by a long shot, but you were the same height as Lance at other times, even though the two were close in height.

Your attention got disrupted, once again, but this time by the door opening. Then Keith's head poked through the side of the door. His pink burn mark curving down his cheek bone grabbed your attention. Apparently some of you were told that that mark was from his Galra blood but turns out he was just fighting with Kuron.

"Hey…" He trailed awkwardly, still standing behind the door. "Can I come in?"

"You already have but sure."

"Sorry,"

"It's cool," you say as he slips in and closes the door behind him.

Keith is wearing his trademark faded-to-blue black shirt and skinny jeans, his belt and jacket nowhere to be seen. He glances around the empty room, then at your wrinkled white bedsheets on the relatively thin mattress where you sit. His face screws up.

"So, Raider," he starts, then sighs, not meeting your eyes and furrowing his brow somewhat agitatedly. "I'm sorry…"

You wait for him to continue.

"About all this. You weren't meant to be caught up in our mess, you just wanted to go home and we've been logging you around these past two weeks…" Keith frowned.

Your heart spikes. _Oh no, what happened in the past 2 weeks?_

"I'm sorry, but we don't have any idea how long it will take to get back to Earth."

You sigh in relief. _So nothing big, then._ That didn't bother you one bit. You could stop reading whenever you wanted. The whole point of reading this fanfiction was to feel like you were a part of the Voltron crew, or at least their super meta best friend.

"I kinda expected that," you said, looking down at your glowing feet. You couldn't even tell what you were wearing. You could be walking around naked and not even know about it! "I'm ok. But what about you?"

Keith's black, thick eyebrows shot up under his mass of jet black(emo) hair. "What?"

"You? How do you feel? You've been away from Earth a long time, haven't you?"

His eyes clouded over and he crossed his arms, looking across the room like some anime boy. Did you bring up bad memories?

"There's nothing for me back there, so no, I don't miss it." His boyish voice lowers, almost below a whisper.

There's a few more seconds of silence before you try again. "Can I suggest a trade?"

His dark purple eyes return to you. He raises an eyebrow, something you realize he does a lot.

"How about…" You scoot over atop the bed. "You tell me how you really feel," you pat the spot next to you. "and I'll tell you some things I figured out about me."

 _Oh, that glow in his eyes_ must _mean he's interested!_

And yeah, somehow, that worked. The author is probably bullshitting, but whatever. He sits down beside you, puts his hands in his lap, and looks at his feet silently. Like, really silently. You're not sure if he's thinking or waiting for you to talk.

After a few more seconds of strangely almost uncomfortable silence, he talks. "I don't want to be leader."

 _Oh shit/z, this again._

"I try, and try, but everything I do seems like anyone else could do it better. I don't want to be responsible for the others," his hands tighten in his lap, and his eyes squeeze shut. "Shiro, or Allura, would be so much better than me. But Shiro is barely himself, and Allura knows just as much as me about leading the team. Even now we don't know what we're doing. Between watching over the Galra, and getting the Alteans off planet, and _you._ " His head lifts up, and he looks deep into your eyes. "We are all over the place."

You nod sympathetically. He looks a little uncomfortable again, then looks back down at his lap.

"And you?" He asks. Changing the topic, getting it off of him, a coping mechanism. "You've been hauled up in the lions, keeping to yourself these past two weeks."

So you didn't miss anything, then. You sigh and think of something to say, looking at the wall in front of you. "...I..have...no idea who I am." you glance at him for a second. He's looking down at the corner of his eye, before he turns to you. You look down at your lap. "I don't feel comfortable in my own body…" _In real life, too,_ some of you think. "I know my name is Reader- I mean Raider. Or Reed. One of those." Your heart pounds at almost exposing your secret. "I know that I'm," you breathe in a huge breath."a huge fan of Voltron, somehow. Or I was, at some point," you add to sound genuine to this fake alter ego. "but, aside from that," you shrug. "Sometimes I think one thing and at the same time I'm thinking another, and it feels like ever since I met you guys I've been going in and out of reality." _Wink wink._ "I don't remember any practical things about myself. My favorite color-" _blue, pink, red, yellow, black, orange, other variations of those colors, the fucking rainbow_ -"my parents names...if I even have parents!" _Some do, some don't._

"I'm sorry," he whispers, looking at you pitifully.

You nod, not sure what to say. _It's fine? But it's not fine for some of us. Thank you? Thanks for what? Listening?_

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I lost my dad when I was still in middle school."

You laugh. " _How_ would that make me feel better?" To your surprise he laughs too.

"Yeah, guess you're right." He chuckles and looks down at his lap again, a little grin on his face.

Bonus points to you for making him laugh.

"But hey," you reach a hand out to him, hover it over his shoulder until he says it's ok. "Seriously? Your feelings are valid, and you don't have to go through it alone. Your teammates are here for you. I've seen how much you all care for each other. If you all just work together, everything will work out. And I'm sure Shiro will get better soon."

You can't quite spot the look in his eyes when he stares at you. Something of disbelief...and of wonder? Maybe? Maybe your just getting your hopes up. After a few seconds of that look, though, Keith relaxes and nods.

You place your hand on his shoulder, and are disappointed to feel no warmth.

It is a fanfiction, after all.


	2. Kuron

Kuron

Your eyes traced the desert land with awe, looking out the window of the Black lion's eyes. The sky high above the hole you were in was bright, and the sun was shining down on the cheering rock people below you. You and the paladins of Voltron just landed on the Planet/thing Balmera to do some...paladin stuff, you weren't too sure. The chapter kinda just put you here. It probably had something to do with Altean politics. We left off trying to figure out what to do with them. Maybe this was one of the planets on that list Coran had.

As you watched the people cheering, you noted with a smile that Hunk was running towards one special Balmeran. The rock girl opened her arms and embraced Hunk, practically swallowing him in her arms. Shay was easily six feet something tall. You couldn't tell from here, and the Voltron heights aren't on the internet so you'll go with that.

 _That's cheating!_ Some of you think. Others didn't care all that much.

You turn around and make your way to the door, deciding to catch up with Keith and the were already outside; What were you doing in here? The door opens and you're only a few steps into the hallway before something catches your attention in the corner of your eye. Pure white hair and a thickly muscled torso.

Shiro is sitting with his back to you, black-clothed back hunched over and arm pulled out in front of him. Boxes surrounded the room around him, probably filled with gadgets and clothes. A white blanket lay across his lap.

You walked closer and knocked on the metal door frame. Shiro looked back at you, black eyes wide but tired, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Oh, hey Raider." He smiled.

 _Raider?_ _Oh yeah! That's our name..haha.._

You smile back. "Hey, just woke up?"

"Yeah," he looked down at himself. "Hold on, let me get dressed." He began to stand up and you took a few steps back and let the door automatically close. It took a few minutes before Shiro called you back in. You walked in and saw that he had set up a few boxes in a row in the middle of the room. His bedding was folded up in a corner.

Shiro sat on one of the boxes and patted the one beside him with the only hand he had left. He was fully clothed in his usual outfit. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," you mumbled and sat beside him. You clasped your glowing hands together and put them on your lap. "Are you feeling alright?" Lifting your gaze up from your lap, you see him raise his white eyebrows at you. "I mean, you look tired. _All the tim_ e." You add. "And I- I'm not completely sure what happened, but I know that it's been really messing with you."

"Thank you, but it's nothing for you to worry about," Shiro assured in a gentle voice. "I'll be fine."

"But you're not fine _now_ , that's the problem. It's been weeks!" You frowned. "Keith told me," - _No he didn't- "_ about Honerva, and Sendak, and about the Galra emperor's position. Now that Loti, Loto- whoever is dead, someone has to take over, right?"

Shiro sighed, closing his eyes and looking down at his feet, elbow on his knee. It's like he didn't even notice he only had one arm. Or maybe he's just used to it. "I didn't realize you knew so much."

"That's what happens when you're quiet and listen to everything," you laugh awkwardly, glancing around the room. It's a cargo hold, you realise.

"Raiden," he paused.

"Reader." You shake your head. "I mean, Raider."

"Raider," he corrects, giving you a apologetic look before setting his chin on top of the palm of his hand. "This body...isn't mine."

You feigned surprise. "Well whose is it?"

He laughed stiffly. "That's the thing, it was _made_ by Haggar."

You try not to laugh as you exclaim, "Haggar's your mother?"

 _Be more serious!_ Some of you thought as you analyzed the situation. _Shiro is feeling vulnerable right now and trying to open up to you, give it a break_! But some of you couldn't help it. A good amount of the readers are awkward and use humor to cope with serious topics. Anxiety ruled over a good part of half of your lives, and for those who it didn't- they were lucky.

Maybe having asked in the first place was a bad idea. You already knew this stuff anyway.

To your surprise, though, Shiro laughs. "I sure hope not! Then I'd be related to the golden Prince."

"You mean Lotion?"

"His name's Lotor," Shiro deep charming laugh warmed your heart. He smiled as he continued to tell you his story. You already knew all about it, but you liked to hear him talk. _Josh Keaton's got a voice, man!_ You remembered to nod pointedly and gasp at all the good parts, as if it was your first time hearing about it.

"And that's about it," he finished, squaring his shoulders and peering over at you. You nodded and raised your arms.

"Need a hug?" You asked.

Over the course of his explanation Shiro's smile had faded away minutely, but at the sound of your request his face brightened up just enough to make you feel good about yourself. You weren't very into hugs. Or you were. Who knew? You felt just a bit uncomfortable asking, but maybe that was anxiety. Or maybe it was from sharing the same mind with however many other people.

You're entire torso was enveloped in his large arm. For some reason you were smaller than him? It felt very weird but also very comfy. You imagined him to be very warm.

"You good?" You asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He pulled away. "Thanks-" and then he froze. Like, his body stilled completely. His eyes were wide and his lips parted, like he was shocked. You called his name and he didn't answer.

You were about to put a hand on his shoulder when he shivered harshly and slumped over, alarming you for a slight second. What was happening? Should you call someone? His head was down between his shoulders, lax, and seconds passed before he slowly lifted up, eyes fluttering open as if he'd just been asleep. His eyes looked..

 _Oh fuck/fudge nipples._

Kuron sat up, eyebrows furrowed up and mouth in a awkward frown, like he felt just as uncomfortable as you. "Uh..hi…"

"You're, uh," you point at him, feeling the breath leave you for a second. "You're _him_ , aren't you? Kuron?"

"Is _that_ what I'm called now?" He shuffled back, not meeting your eyes. He looked down at his armless shoulder, frowning. He looked like the same old Shiro, but way more... _awkward_? Tense?

"So it is you," you mumbled. "Um, you're not gonna, like, attack me are you?"

Shiro- no, Kuron laughed bitterly, hand on the edge of his box and head turned down to the floor, yet his body stayed facing you. "that wasn't- no, that _was_ me. I'm not Shiro," he laughed again, brittle and broken. "I'm..not...him." he breathed. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"Um," you've _got_ to stop saying _um,_ "Are you ok?"

"Honestly?" He looked at you with one eye after running his hand down his face. His elbow was on his knee, making him hunch. He moved his hands a lot. "No. My whole life is a lie. It's not even _my_ life."

You were too busy thinking of what to say to actually say anything. You find it very annoying to have so many people in one head.

"I don't know who I am, anymore. I'm not even supposed to exist! Haggar created me and Keith tried to save me but-" he stopped. "No, Keith tried to save _Shiro_. But still...I..I only got sent to the back of his head. I can see through Shiro's eyes like a movie screen but sometimes all there is is static."

He sighed with resignation. "I'm not going to attack you, Raider. I don't want to be _that_ person. When Haggar controlled me, it was like being in the body of someone else, like I was drowning- I," he stuttered. "I could barely hear _anything._ She had full control over me and I could only watch from a distance. I tried to fight, I tried! But, in the end…" and he stopped there. He couldn't continue. Looking at him now, eyes tired instead of deadly, stature slumped and defeated, you knew instantly that what happened wasn't his fault. Honerva did this. For three seasons, Kuron had tried his best to be the Shiro he wanted to be and he succeeded for the most part. This was just as traumatizing for him as it was for Shiro.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered, and you weren't sure if he was talking to you or about the paladins, but it was the last straw either way

"What happened wasn't your fault. It was Honerva's." You placed your hand on his shoulder.

"I hurt Keith and the others," he murmured. "Even managed to hurt myself. Or who I used to be. Who I tried to be?"

"You were the best Shiro an Shiro could be," You assured with a nod, furrowing your eyebrows and thinning your lips.

Kuron looked at you. His eyebrows furrowed and sharp black eyes glistening."You're not scared of me?"

"You're actually a big buff baby and I love you."

He laughs quietly as he looks back at the floor, a small pained smile crosses his face. He laughs just like Shiro: small, short, with a hint of underlying torment. "Thanks."

Ok..ok. This is happening. Kuron's alive, and he isn't trying to kill you. Good. This is good.

 _Until he goes haywire again._

 _Shut up._

Kuron, well, he was a nice character to have when he wasn't yelling at Lance or trying to kill Keith. But then again, you just learned that wasn't him. It was Haggar. You knew that already, but you weren't sure if it was all fake or not. If he was acting, and Haggar always had his mind. The whole fandom was suspicious of him even before we found out what was actually going on. Shiro _died._

"Do you...do you know who I am?" You ask.

"Kind of. I have on and off memories of what's been happening these past few weeks."

"Gotcha," you shoot a finger gun at him and then awkwardly put you hands in your lap. "Um, you're gonna be ok. You _and_ Shiro are going to be ok. These things usually figure themselves out. The paladins won't hurt either of you, especially if you're not, you know, gonna try to kill them or hijack a lion or something."

He's silent.

"And _I_ won't let anything happen to you." That's when he looks up. "I can't do much, but...I'll do what I can."

He looks at you with wonder, and then his face softens into a nice smile, one much like first season Shiro's, and hugs you. "Thank you."

You hug him back, albeit awkwardly. "You're welcome."

You still can't feel anything.

"Is, uh, is Shiro gonna come back? Anytime soon?" You ask as he pulls back. "Maybe we should keep this little conversation between us until we can find out a way to help you."

A knock on the door startles you away from each other. "Shiro? Reed? You in there?"

It's Lance.

Kuron jumps, then looks at you, mildly alarmed. "Oh, Raider, sorry, I spaced out for a minute."

 _He's Shiro again. Huh._

"The Balmeran's are wondering where you are!" Lance said from behind the door.

"We should continue this conversation later," He stands up and lends a hand to you. You grab onto his only arm and stand up. "but thank you, really."

You blinked furiously, mind focusing on where you are and what's happening. You're in a conference room, or what looks like one, in a cave somewhere you guessed was deep in the underground maze of the Balmera. Stone surrounded you, some of them glowing a pale green, lighting the room and creating a peaceful atmosphere. In the middle of the room was a long conference table, with who you guessed were the leaders of the Balmeran tribes, and of course the paladins of Voltron.

Even with the lights on, it was still very dim in the cave, but it was relaxing, and the slight panic you felt whenever you blinked quickly sauntered away. You were standing against the wall with other Balmerans along with Krolia and Shay. The ceiling wasn't too high but good enough that the Balmeran's heads weren't touching it.

They're discussing Altean matters. Allura and Coran have the most information on the subject so they're the ones who have most of the responsibilities at these conferences. You're all still looking for a place to set the Alteans but luckily It looks like the conference is coming to a close soon.

"Yeah, sitting a group of a thousand plus Alteans on a living rock _didn't_ seem like a good idea when it was first suggested either." Lance comments.

"Lance," Allura hushed him.

"What?" He shrugged with his arms crossed, jutting out his lower lip and furrowing his eyebrows. "I'm just saying."

"We would be honored to give the lost Alteans our home. If only it were possible." The possible leader of the Balmerans said with regret.

"I understand." Allura says, standing up from her seat. Everyone at the table rose as the two shook hands.

The meeting came to an end and you followed the team out of the cave and into the tunnels.

"They do know what Alteans are, right? It's like they've been living under a rock this whole time." Lance commented from in front of you, hands clasped behind his head as he walked.

You laugh. "Good job."

"I try my best," he grins and shoots you with his finger guns.

You blinked and find yourself in the door frame of a well lit, definitely not underground room. Hunk is moving around, gathering things- pots, pans. It's a kitchen. You're in a kitchen.

You take your first steps in as Hunk moves around the room.

"Oh, hey Reed. What's up?" He asks, focusing on gathering seasonings from the cupboards, or what you guessed were seasonings.

"You cooking for us?" You asked, examining the large oval-shaped table in the middle of the room with ingredients and cooking utensils strewed all over it.

"Yep, the Balmerans are going to feast tonight!" He huffs, shaking some orange stuff into a large bubbling pan on one of the stoves on the counter.

"Alone? Need any help?" You ask, despite some of you not knowing how to boil water. You felt awkward just standing there doing nothing, and you didn't have any idea why you ended up here with Hunk, but it was written into the fic for some reason, right?

"Yeah, can you get the green and black salt shaker in that cabinet over there?" He pointed to the left side of the room across the table from him.

Hesitantly, you followed his directions to which different meats and edible plants he needed. After awhile, silence fell between you two, with Hunk's humming and the pop of food boiling being the only sound in the room.

"So, who is she?" You ask, smiling to yourself as you got out the ingredients.

"Hm?"

"The girl from earlier? The one that's making you extremely happy right now?" You glanced back at him.

"Oh, you saw that?" He runs a hand through his thick brown hair, looking sheepish.

"Depends, do you wanna tell me about her?"

Hunk's switch between having the most lovestruck face on earth to being the coolest, nonchalant teenager was so quick you almost missed it. "Eh, it's nothing. I barely know her."

"It didn't look like that to me," you smirk.

Something in the pot boils louder and he returns his attention to the dish.

"No one cooks a feast, personally, by _themselves_ , for someone they "barely know"." You say after he doesn't reply. "Come on..I won't make fun of you for it."

He looks back at you, bottom lip jutted out, inspecting you. After a few seconds pass he sighs. "So her name's Shay-"

You rush to find a chair and sit down with your hands in your lap, eyes and smile wide as he relayed to you his past with the Balmeran. You already know the story, but you had no problem hearing it again.

He has a faint blush on his cheeks as he talks about her, grinning at all the good parts, frowning at all the Galra parts, you know, back when they were bad. And then he lets you help him cook. You add stuff as he tells you: plants that look like meat that you'd never eat, things that were spices that you'd never guess were spices. Hunk was completely unfazed by it, but you were thinking about skipping this meal. Not like you could taste it anyway.

"So how does it smell?" Hunk and you loom over the pot, wafting the scent up both your nostrils.

You took a sniff but couldn't smell anything. You smile up at him and nod.

The next day your on bi boh bi's planet again. You think it's like a home base for these guys now. The paladins are even able to go outside without being mauled, but then again, the little noodle-like creatures are too small to really do anything. You blink yourself awake and find yourself sitting at a table outside with Lance.

You look around, taking in your surroundings. Bi boh bi's are walking around, completely ignoring you two. You're in a plaza, outside a building that kind of reminded you of a fast food restaurant. There are tables all around the outside of the restaurant, Bi boh bi's talking and doing their own thing. The sky is clear, and you don't see any of the other paladins.

"Hey. Reed." Lance gets your attention, furrowing his eyebrows and pouting while pointing something that resembles a fry at you.

"Huh?" You look at him. He's wearing his normal clothing.

"You listening?"

"Yeah," you perk up. You're starting to get used to this time-travelling thing. "Just, uh, taking in all of.. _this_." You move your hand in whatever direction, gesturing to the world as a whole.

"Right? It's like we're in a video game."

"Someone had to be very creative to come up with this," you laugh.

"Yeah, it's like a ramen shop came to life."

"Let's not make fun of people." You say, smiling.

"I'm not!" He said, stretching his arms out in front of him. "I'm just saying, I'm not averse to eating one of them. You know how long it's been since I've had real noodles?"

"What are _fake_ noodles?"

"Dude, you don't wanna know."

A part of you does, but instead of pursuing it further you just nod. "Anyway, uh," you pointedly look around. "What are we doing here?"

"Do you think Allura likes me?"

You blink. "What?"

"It's just that, after all that's happened, I thought we'd been getting close, ya know?" Lance twisted his wrist, eating the "fry" and then grabbing another one. "But then Lotor came along with his old wizard hair and took advantage of her-" he keeps going and a part of you starts to zone out.

"Mhm." You hum. _Listen to him! I wanna know what he's saying!- nah this is boring, get on with the story. -Pay attention! It'll get better, maybe..._

"And I've been trying to get her attention for a while and-"

"You are amazing and worth it and everyone loves you."

He laughs somewhat bitterly. "Yeah, not everyone…"

"I think- and I'm a newbie so I don't know much- but from the time I've spent with you guys, I can tell that you all care very much for each other. And- hold on, how old is Allura?"

He pauses. "Uh…" His eyes glance toward the bright blue sky, squinting at the waves of light. It looked like a Earth sky. You wondered if he still misses it there. "Maybe a million years old- but we're in space and I'm almost legal!"

You begin to say something, then stop, then with fake surprise- "A million?" You exclaim incredulously.

"Oh, yeah, they're like-" he stops. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later. But she's probably not that older than me if you take into account what _exactly_ happened."

"O...kay..?" You nod, feigning confusion. "Well as I was about to say, Allura seems like she cares for all of you, _including_ you, a lot."

"I don't mean _that_ like, I mean-"

"I know what you mean, babe, but she seems more like a mother figure than a love interest."

"A what?" His voice gets high and he gives a disapproving look. "How'd you get that?"

"She treats you all like children. Just the other day she had to shush you at the Balmeran meeting-"

He slumps in his chair, crossing his arms and pouting. "I'm not a kid."

You look at him in silence for a few seconds, until he realizes what he's doing and sits up in his chair, setting his chin in the palm of his hand as he grabbed another fry.

"Anyway," you continue. "If you like Allura, you like Allura. And I'm not saying she doesn't like you back cause I don't know-" _well now that season 7 is out I- "_ but I think she just likes you as a friend."

He took a sip of his drink, made a face, then set the cup back down.

"What do you like about her?" You ask, trying to change the tense atmosphere a bit.

 _Shallura's my shit,_ some of you think.

 _Not after season 7 it isn't._

 _I always liked Allurance-_

 _Klance for the win, though?_

 _Allurance is the minority, omg._

 _Klance was foreshadowed like heck though!_

 _I thought Allurance was cute but I didn't think it'd actually happen._

 _Anyone else here ships Plance?_

 _I don't ship any of these ships,_ some of you laugh in your head.

"Are you kidding me? She's the whole package!" Lance starts off, invigorated. Gosh, how many gushing boys are you gonna listen to in this chapter? "She's smart, she's pretty, she's got a heart of Balmeran Crystals-"

And he goes on and on.

"And what about you? You got anyone waiting for you back home? Seen any aliens you like?" He smirks, raising a cocky eyebrow.

You smirk back. "Well there is this one pretty boy sitting in front of me."

He throws his head back in laughter. You shoot him finger guns, taking his example from earlier, and he raises his hand for a high five. You receive it.

"Haha! That- that was good." He points at you, still laughing a bit. "We should probably get going. The others must be _starving_ by now. " Lance grabs some bags on the table you didn't even notice were there, to-go boxes, you notice, and gets up. You stand with him.

As you reach the port where the rest of the paladins are staying, you look around. It's something of a hotel, lights pour out of many windows, the front doors are clear and large, but they're Bii Boh's and you wonder why they need that much space for a door. Maybe it was made for the paladins.

Hunk and Allura turn to you guys as you enter the door. Coran and Shiro are on the couch behind them.

"Finally, you got the food! Been long enough, I'm _starving_." Hunk comes up and takes the bags from Lance.

"Where's Pidge?" Lance glanced around.

"Room."

"Still?" Lance makes a mildly annoyed sound. "Hey Reed, will you take this to Pidge?" He hands out the last to-go box to you.

"Uh, sure.." You take it and head towards the hallway, then stop. "Uh," you turn back to him. "Where is it?"

And then you're there. _Oh, thank God I can't get lost and embarrass myself._

You knock on the door and wait for a _come in_. A _who is it?_ and a _Read- Reed!_ later, your opening the door to a cluster of mess typical of the youngest paladin.

Pidge is sitting in the middle of all the mess, you have no idea what it is, though. A bunch of tech that doesn't exist in real life, aside from some mini generators and something like a kindle plugged up to something like a charger and wires strewn around the room.

"Yo!"

"I have food!" You say and step over everything to hand it to the green paladin. "Whatcha workin' on?"

"It's a ¿^^°¥^]·$*."

You raise your eyebrows, rereading the line above again. "A what?"

"A ¿^^°¥^]·$*." Pidge says again, then smiles up at you. "It's ok if you don't get it. Not everyone is well versed in thermodynamics."

 _Is that what that was?_ _The author's gotta be bullshitting/crapping again._

"I'm making a new program for the green lion." They/she say(s), opening the to-go box and eating whatever slop was inside with a fork you didn't know came with the box.

"What does it do?"

Pidge looks up at you with mischievous honey brown eyes. "You'll see."

"Aww," you pout, sitting down. "And I was so interested in learning about thermodynamics..!"

"Well you're welcome to watch me, if you want. Maybe I could teach you a few things." And then a pause. "Um..Raider? How was Earth?"

You raise your eyebrows. "Um.. I don't-.."

"Oh yeah, right," Pidge puts on a sad smile and laughs sorely. "You have amnesia.."

"Yeah, sorry…"

"No, no, it's my fault for asking." They/she get(s) back to work on the device, but stops again, eyes dazed and shoulders slumped. "It's just…"

"You've been gone for so long?"

"Yeah.."

You put your hand on their/her shoulder. It takes a moment for Pidge to look at you.

"Hey, it's gonna be ok. I'm not exactly sure what's happening on Earth right now, but I don't think you should worry. It doesn't help anything, and I know you guys are working hard out here to keep it safe there." _One more paladin to add to the list. Gotta catch them all._

"My dad-" Pidge starts, takes a deep breath. "I don't know if my dad has reached Earth yet."

"What's going on with your dad?"

Pidge takes the time to explain the alien kidnapping and the years in prison he suffered with Matt and Shiro and everything. All the stuff you already know.

"I've gone longer without him, it's only been a month or so, but still-"

"You miss him, that's normal." You console. Pidge has their/her head on your shoulder now and you awkwardly wrap your arm around them/her.

"Sometimes all of this seems so unreal."

"You're telling me."

"Do you remember anything before you met us?"

You think for a moment. What should be alright to tell? How your family completely ignores the fact that your LGBT? That you felt like all your friends just put up with you so they don't hurt your feelings? That no one really likes you? That the economy is so messed up that by the time you graduate high school or college or start a job or just get out in life that what's already happened is irreversible and It's on you and your generation to try to fix it?

Or that you can't remember any of this happening to you, because it never did, but you watched as it has happened to your friends or your family and all you can do is _watch_ as the world and its chaos unfurls around you?

And then how you started watching Voltron, and it made you forget all that for a little while?

"A mystical being," you start, "with lions for hands and feet...comes to the galaxy's rescue and saves the day."

Someone knocks on the door. You freeze.

It opens automatically to reveal Shiro. "Vakala just called. They found a habitable planet."

Pidge gasped, head raising from your shoulders. "So that means-"

"Yeah," Shiro smiled warmly. "We're getting them home."

"...Va-who-ha?" You ask.


	3. Ride Home

There are well over two thousand Alteans. They've been hiding out for millions of years, creating their own culture: farming, bartering, theatrics, music-

They even have different regions and dialects. There's a accent that's a mix of British, Australian, and the South of North America. Granted, it's been over a million years for everyone else, but only maybe a hundred for them. Time works so weird in space. Still, there's a lot of them, and obviously the paladins can't fit them all in their lions. So they called some friends.

Aliens they've saved throughout the universe who have the tech and space to help carry a entire race across the galaxy have come to repay their debts. Ships as large as cities find their way onto the planet and park miles away from the civilization. Everywhere you look, aliens of vast cultures, foe and friend, have come through for the paladins of Voltron to transport the once lost but now found Alteans. They're children run through the bazaar, playing silly games and laughing. It's almost like a festival: Alteans are helped in packaging their goods, clothes, and such; tardigrade-like creatures hand out drinks to the sporting men and women as they walk for miles to the ships. Alteans cry and say goodbye to their land before picking up their bags and making their way up the inclined path, into one of the many ships, to face their new destiny on the Planet -='/,**#=!4.

Meanwhile, Shiro is in the conference room inside one of the allying ships, having been called by one of the aliens, a Olkari, because the Blade of Marmora needed to talk to them. The rest of the paladins were busy guiding the Alteans, so he decided to go on before them. No use keeping them waiting.

Kolivan stood stone-faced on the screen before him, thin white ponytail wrapped around his neck under his hood. It's been awhile since they've talked face to face, even across screens. The Blade have been working on infiltrating rebel Galra troops, sneaking their way into encrypted files and trying to postpone the emperor election.

And find Haggar.

She's completely disappeared since they're last run in with her. With...the clone. Shiro got a headache just thinking about it. That thing had taken his life from him. And not just that, but his reality. Sometimes he felt like he wasn't even _real_. _What if he was another clone_? Would he even know? Did the _other him_ know? And the headaches- they were awful. He couldn't think for awhile, phantom pain crawling up his missing arm, clinging to his shoulder. He'd black out right in the middle of conversation and then find himself in a completely different place than he was before.

And it's Haggar's fault. What did she _do_ to him? Would he feel this tired forever? Did she suck all the life out of this body right before he moved into it from the black lion? Is his clone dead? And what is she doing now? Hiding out, planning, getting ready for the emperor's inauguration? Is Sendak with her? Zethrid? Ezor? Did she still have control of this body that technically wasn't his?

He remembered meeting his clone for the first time. The black lion knew immediately that he wasn't right. Not only because Shiro was with him, but because of the aura he gave off. But then he started pleading, really wanting to help Lance and Pidge and Hunk and Allura, and he realized that the clone really did think he was Shiro. He _really did_ want to help them.

The clone thought he was real.

So Shiro let him. He convinced the black lion to let him in, and from there Shiro took on the role of the black lion.

It doesn't make any sense to him, even now, but he feels bad for the clone. He tried his best. It just wasn't good enough.

Kolivan started before the rest of the paladins could arrive. "The time for the Kral Zera is near."

Shiro felt his blood freeze. "What?"

"In two spicolian movements, the last of Zarkon's Galra allies will gather on Planet Feyiv to fight for the throne." Kolivan's voice becomes grave. "There isn't much time. With Lotor gone, we no longer have anyone on our side who can help maintain the peace between the Galra and the rest of the races."

Another headache rose to the surface. A pulse through Shiro's temple caused a groan and a cringe. He brought a hand to his head.

"Shiro," Keith's voice called from behind him.

He straightened up, ignoring the raging thrum of his headache.

"Kolivan, what's the news?" Keith appeared beside Shiro, taking Kolivan's attention off of him.

The Galra aren't very happy with Voltron right now, even the reformed ones. They refuse to believe what happened with Lotor. He was the first stage of a new beginning. He went for reforms like nothing they'd seen in their lifetimes, and then Voltron got rid of him, just like Zarkon. Of course, there are those who are glad to have Lotor out of the way-

Those that they will have to fight off at Kral Zera.

It'll take a few days, or quintants, before they will be able to get the Alteans across the universe. Another good few weeks to actually find someone to replace Lotor. But then again, they don't have a few weeks. The Blade of Marmora and Matt's team are the only ones on the lookout right now because of the Transport. Now that the Kral Zera is coming up, they will have to speed everything up.

Keith clenched the controls, glaring into space as he raced farther and farther from the hidden planet. The black lion growled but didn't make a move to stop him. He pressed a button on the monitor, starting up the simulation. Loud explosions went off right into his ear as the sight before him shifted into a crusty desert plain, dirt bursting up and out of the ground. He dodged the mines, spying the body of water coming up.

The mines started to activate subsequently, practically blinding him, but he kept his eyes focused and his movements instinctual. The wolf behind him sneezed himself awake, before blinking and slowly going back to sleep.

The black lion reached the ocean. Just as he thought he was out of imminent harm's way, water blasted up to his right. He caught himself before he could get caught, but the strikes were unforgiving. He dodged left, right, but a surprise hit from the back was what got him. There was a scream.

Keith took in deep breaths, his jet black bangs stuck to his forehead. He sat back in his seat, hands loose on the controls. The simulation ended and the windshield cleared to reveal the purples and blues of the galaxy. He relaxed.

He heard the door slide open behind him. "What was that?" You screamed, hand grasping the doorway, heart racing in your chest having just woke up from a midday nap, which was very strange for a part of you, because sleep usually wasn't that easy. At least your fanfiction self didn't have insomnia. Or sleep apnea.

Keith snapped his head around to look at you. "Raider! I, uh, I didn't know you were still in here.."

"Yeah, I took a nap," you stumbled your way in, covering your mouth as you yawned. "What're we doing?" You look out the windshield. You don't see the other paladins. "Where's the others?"

"Oh, no, I just," he turns back around in his seat, glancing over the galactic plains. "wanted to get some air."

"In space?" You rose a non-existent eyebrow. "What a life. Just say _I need some space,_ and then you literally go to space."

"Yeah," he said absentmindedly, eyes not straying from the stars. "What a life…"

Silence passes between you two. Your hand is on his chair as you peer at him. He's not paying you any attention. It doesn't look like he's really all that into the view now, either. You turn your eyes to the scene before you, but all you see are words on pages. You skim down the dialogue.

"So," you squint, reading your lines. "did something happen?"

"Nothing for you to worry about." His eyes come into focus again and he sits up in his seat, regripping the controls. "I should get you back."

"Dude, I'm on this boat with you guys, too. Whatever obstructs our journey back to Earth _is_ my business," you say, then smile. "Not that I don't like spending time with you guys."

He took a minute to think. As you waited you scrolled back over the text you missed while "asleep".

 _Oooh, the Kral Zera...right, that's a problem._

Keith crossed his arms. "I trusted Lotor. For two seconds, I trusted him." The wolf behind you growled in his sleep. "And then he betrayed us all. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I hadn't left Voltron."

You screw up your face at that. If he hadn't left Voltron, he-

"I wouldn't have found my mother, of course, and I wouldn't have found out about what he'd been doing, but something seems so _wrong-"_

"You shouldn't feel bad for having seen the best of someone." You say.

"It's not that. I mean the situation itself." He meets your gaze, his features grave. "It's like we're missing something. Like there's one more piece to the puzzle that we haven't gotten yet. I just-" he looks back out into space- "can't think of what it is..."

"Huh…" You nod, knitting your eyebrows together in thought. _Looks like the story's picking up._

"The Kral Zera is in two weeks," Keith starts to turn the black lion around. "We have to get someone to replace Lotor in that time, or we're gonna have a lot more problems coming up."

"Mm, do the others know?"

.

"Just me and Shiro. Right after we finished talking to the Blade, he had a headache and went off somewhere."

"A headache?"

 _Shit/z._

"Well, since you're so adamant about being a part of this team-" Keith starts, changing the conversation with a cocky look on his face-" You used to be a pilot, right? How about I teach you a few things?"

You find Kuron at the cliff of a ravine. You're not entirely sure how you got there, but if you have to find a way back through all these trees around you, you'll manage somehow. He's standing with his back turned to you, looking out over the edge, leaning against a tree.

"Kuron?" You call in a low voice, just loud enough for him to hear you.

He twisted around and you got a good look at his eyes. _Yup, that's him_.

"Raider," he gave you a surprised look. "How did you find me?"

You walk up to him, leaves cackling under your feet. You ignore his question. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

He's looking down at you. _Down at you. He's taller than us._

"I needed to get some space." He answers.

"Wow, you and Keith have very different definitions of getting some space."

"What?"

"Nevermind. It's not important." You examine the stream. No fish, but that's probably because this is another planet. _Then how was there water here? Wait, if there wasn't water on other planets, then how would the paladins have survived this long?_

 _Well it is a TV show._

 _I have questions._

 _I am confusion._

 _Mars has ice, doesn't it? Or is that the moon?_

 _I think it's Jupiter._

 _Ok, you guys, back to the story._

You read forward, wanting a hint to what the problem is. You see a recurring point of interest.

 _Oh!_

"Is it Honerva?" You ask.

Kuron freezes up. "How did you-"

"Keith told me about the Kral Zera. I guessed from there." _We're getting so good at lying!_

He sighs and sits down against the tree, one leg pulled out in front of him, off the edge of the cliff. It's only a six feet drop down but a part of you doesn't like the idea of dropping, or falling, down anyway. You sit against the same tree, adjacent to him.

"What'll happen when I see her? What if I attack everyone again?"

"That's not gonna happen."

"How do you know that?" His voice rose.

"You gotta be positive, my guy!" You say, turning towards him. "And, seriously, you attacking six other uninjured warriors at once in your state is bound to fail." You point to his arm.

Kuron set his hand on his armless shoulder, eyes low and dim.

"What makes you any different from Shiro?" You put a hand next to his knee. He meets your gaze. "Or Lance, or Keith, or Pidge? What makes you any less important than any of them? You wouldn't give up on any of them if they were in your situation, would you?"

"It's not the same!"

"How is it not-!"

"Because I'm not real!"

"Then I'm not either." You say, heart pumping fast, adrenaline rushing through your veins. Kuron gives you a incredulous look. "If you're not real, then neither am I. If you can prove to me right now that you don't have a consciousness, or any self-awareness," you pause, gulp. "If you can prove that you're heart isn't beating in your chest, that you don't have any emotions whatsoever, then I'll believe you're not real."

Kuron stumbles, mouth opening and closing, starting and then stopping, but in the end he can't say anything.

"That's what I thought." You nod once before moving beside him, swinging your legs over the edge of the cliff. He's looking across the stream again, to the other wall of thick forest. You settle your eyes on his scar for a few seconds, before wrapping your arm around his waist. He doesn't stop you. "I know you're real...and she can't make you do anything you don't want to. You're in control."

A few minutes pass with distinct silence between you two.

"Thanks…" He says after a while.

"You're welcome." You say with a smile on your face, listening to the calming sound of the stream.

A small smile gradually graced Kuron's lips.

.

"Where have you guys been?"

You blink comically, wincing at the loud burst of noise right in your face. You find yourself in the clearing where the ships are parked with Coran running towards you. Kuron is beside you- _he hasn't turned back yet?-_ and his body is completely still, eyes wide.

 _He's panicking_.

"We're about to take off!" Coran flings his arms around. "Get in your lions and get ready for lift off! We're in a hurry-" he starts shooing you with his hands. "Go, go, go!"

"Which one?" You ask, referring to which lion you are set up to ride in.

"Any of them! Pick one!"

The last of the Alteans are climbing their way into ships, the loud thrum of roaring engines starting up and people running. In only a few minutes, the area is clear of everything but ships and trees. You found yourself ushered into the red lion, keeping an eye on Kuron as you hop inside and watch from behind Lance as Kuron stops right outside the black lion beside you, shivers, and looks around, confused. You sigh, assured that Shiro is back. He's pulled into the lion with Krolia. The red lion raises from the ground and you give one last look to the village. You swear you can hear the youngest Alteans crying their goodbyes from the other ships, as if they were all calling out in unison.

Voltron is escorting the Alteans across the universe, just as precaution. This is a part of their job; if anything were to happen, and hopefully it won't, then they will be here to protect them. They can't risk it. The aliens still can't believe they've been hidden for millions of years. It's gonna be a long ride home.

The hardest part of going out of orbit is getting out of orbit. There are so much debris blocking their way when they first leave the planet that it takes thirty minutes to maneuver out of it. There are some pretty close calls, but you all make it out alright. You sigh in relief as you finally see all clear skies- er, space. Instinctively, you look down at Lance. He pulls back, relaxing in his seat finally and letting the red lion handle the rest. He sighs and looks to his right, not at you, but out into space. Beside the red lion is the blue lion, and his eyes are glued to it, mystified.

You're sure it's not because he misses shooting ice from it's maw.

"Oooh, she's cute, you gonna ask her out?" You joke, getting his attention.

He lets out a low laugh. "I already tried. Girls' got high standards."

"Higher than you? She's looking for the impossible, then."

He smiles and raises a hand. You slap it.

"I was talking about the blue lion, by the way." You specify.

"I like you," he wriggles a finger at you, grinning now. "Where have you been all this time?"

You click your tongue and wink, shooting finger guns at him. "I'm socially awkward and that one joke took all of my energy."

"Relatable."

"I am a hollow of a person."

"Still same." he coughs, turning his gaze to the infinite galaxy and the many ships flowing through it. "Hey..uh, do you know anything about girls? Like, alien girls?" You raise an eyebrow. Before he even looks at you, he's chastising himself. "Nevermind. Stupid, stupid!" Then, "Why doesn't Allura like me?"

You pat his shoulder. He looks out the window again, at the blue lion. "Do you think she's OK over there?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she's finally got her people back. She's princess of a race again, after all this time. Practically a queen! And she's lost almost everything already: her dad, her castle, her planet..and now.."

A thought comes to you, and you give him a grave look. "No. No, she isn't going to leave any of you behind."

He looks at you with that wicked scrunch of his thin eyebrow. You continue. "She's not going to let you all go to Earth without her. There's no way that's going to happen. We're gonna get the Alteans to their new home and then we're going to fix the Galra empire and then we are _going to Earth. Together._ " You say, "You guys have to rebuild the castle, don't you? The castle ship?"

He doesn't look convinced at first, until you mention the ship, and then he looks away for a second, realization dawning in his dark, slitted eyes. "You're right!"

"I know I'm right." You grin. This is the most grinning some of you felt like you've done in a long time. "How did you guys even function without me?"

He shook his head, amusement quirking his lips up at the corner. "I have no idea."

"And to answer your first question- yeah, I think she's OK over there. She's gonna do a great job ruling the Alteans."

He snorted. "There's no doubt of that." He scratches his scalp, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Also..thanks. You know, for all the advice."

 _Yeah, just wish I could take my own advice._

 _Learned from experience, kid._

 _I have_ no _idea what you guys are talking about._

"You're welcome." You settle on.

He gives you a fake flirty look. "It's almost like you have a crush on me."

"Ha! You wish!" You laugh.

"Not even just a bit?"

"No, actually, you're right. That's it. That's exactly it." You play along. "I'm drowning. Completely stumped."

An alarm forces your attention away from each other, unfortunately. Because _of course_ something had to happen during this trip.

 _Damn/dang author._

You and Lance are looking into the dead of space as Allura's voice asks loudly over the command, "Can you see that?"

Your eyes catch something in the purple and black of the galaxy. It's far out, but it's there, like little dots, glinting in the starlight. But their triangle shaped, and _moving_. And you recognize it almost instantly, like it was just pulled out of your mind.

They're Galra ships. Dozens of them.

"Oh fudge, you're joking me…"


	4. New Home

The armada is upon you, driving itself closer and closer. Seeing it this close after all this time is completely disorienting...and terrifying. You weren't ready for a battle, you didn't even know how to fight! Also, now was _not_ the time for this! Allura had the right idea. Her shrill, yet delicate voice hoisted out orders left and right, telling the vulnerable ships to escape, evacuate, _retreat_ , as far as they could. _Get out of here_ , she screamed. You asked, mind now in the zone, having fully caught up on the situation at hand and feeling the adrenaline coursing through your veins, " _What about me?"_

You were excited. Cheezits, help you..! You couldn't wait to see how the fight played out, but then again, you were also terrified. You were in the midst of a battle forming, and the alien ships weren't going fast enough to not be in the way of the oncoming fight. The enemy ships were huge, taking up almost all of space, and about to arrive right in front of you. Keith's wolf was working on getting everyone that wasn't a paladin out of the lions- meaning Romelle, who was bunking with Allura to catch her up on the neoculture of Altea, Krolia who was with her son, and the mice were all being moved to one of the transport ships. You heard Kaltenecker disappear with a _poof_ somewhere behind you, having signified the wolf had gotten her somewhere safe.

That is, until the wolf didn't come back.

You and the others listened to Keith call for the child, but he got no response. You and Shiro were still in the lions.

"We have to get them out of here!" Hunk said.

"There's not enough time!" Pidge yelled back, obviously conflicted about what to do as well, if their/her voice was anything to go by.

"We have to lure them away from the Alteans so that they'll have enough time to draw back." Keith's irritated voice put in, having already formed a plan. "Raider will just have to stay with us."

The group gasped, unbelieving of Keith's theoretical course of action.

"We can't! We don't know what will happen when we form Voltron," Pidge said.

"Pidge is right. It's too much of a risk." Allura backed up.

"There's no other choice!" Keith argued, and then the black lions off, heading towards the large invaders. We call after him, Lance growling, before we follow behind him.

"Get ready," Lance says, and that's all the warning you get before you are dragged into the Voltron formation sequence.

A full fifty-eight seconds pass with literally just forming Voltron, and you think idly about how the Galra probably could have blown up all the allying ships by now.

"Are you ok?" Lance asked you.

"I feel like throwing up."

"Right?!" Hunk exclaimed.

You felt a little nauseous, but you'd be alright. What was happening before you seemed much more important than a light sickness. Lance steeled himself for an attack. "Hold on tight! It's gonna be a bumpy ride," he said as the large mecha moved forward, floating towards the array of spaceships.

You heard Allura over the comlink. "What is the problem here?" She asked loudly and cut off abruptly. She was talking to the ships. There was brief static.

"Paladins of Voltron," said a familiar voice, deep and hostile. "You have interfered with the Galra empire for the last time. Surrender your lions now and we will show you mercy."

Sendak.

"We don't have to fight!" Allura tried again to settle the fight before it begins, desperately wanting to let the Alteans get home safely, or at least give them enough time to get away. She was half-stalling and half-hoping that this would all end before any damage could be done.

But then the connection shut, and a ball of light was building up at the end of a tunnel at the front of one of the enemy ships.

She sighed, exasperated.

"They're attacking," Lance pointed out, nervousness in his voice. If they ended up fighting against all these ships alone, there's no way they would be able to keep track of who's going after the Altean ships under all the fire they'd have to see through.

"Move up!" Shiro yelled as the blue ball of light shot forward into a laser. It was inches away from hitting them but they were lucky enough to have moved out of the way in time.

And then you could see-...see _something_ , but you definitely weren't in Voltron anymore. Lance disappeared and the stars of space were nowhere to be seen, everything was quickly replaced with a corridor, like the ones in the Galra ships. Two guards were standing on opposite sides of the hall, in front of two doors, when one of them blew open, flinging the Galra trooper into the other and bringing them both down with a grunt, smoke filling the passage.

A figure jumped forward and out of the doorway, black and blue and covered in fur, as another man turned a corner and saw him, shooting first and asking questions later. He was caught off guard with the wolf running towards him, then disappearing and appearing right in front of him, taking him down with the clashing sound of a gun hitting the floor and sliding across into oblivion.

You gasped, now back inside Voltron. You had never left.

"Whoa, do you see that?" Lance asked, and you let the nausea leave you before you were able to see what he was talking about. One of the ships was smoking on one side, a big bubble of white popped out of the side of it and made it lose its balance, tipping over its side and knocking into another ship right as it fired another laser at you.

The laser hit Voltron, knocking you off your feet and making you hit your head hard onto the ground as everyone groaned in pain, including you, electricity shocking them, and you grasping your head in pain, the laser having caused damage right in Voltron's stomach, except it didn't, and you were still upright behind Lance's chair.

With no need to even look, with only the sudden urge to _do_ , you reached out and grabbed onto the control trigger right beneath Lance's hand and pulled right, just before the laser could hit you all.

You sighed in relief, looking down. Lance stared up at you amazed, hawk eyes wide and confused but also in some kind of awe.

You embarrassingly let go of Lance's hand.

"Dude...that was awesome!" He grinned.

"What just happened?" Pidge called, alarmed.

"Raider just happened! Looks like you're getting some of that pilot instinct back, huh?" He congratulated.

The wolf appeared at the control center in one of the ships. The two Galra agents were looking out of the screen over to the mecha you were in while talking into a comlink in his ear, voice urgent before rising in pitch as he saw the wolf come at him, tackling him onto the ground before he could fully reply to Sendack's orders. The unharmed Galra agent pulled out his firearm and tried aiming at the wolf, who jumped back from the unconscious agent and evaporated into thin air, appearing a little to the left, and then to the right, messing up the living agent's shot.

"Shoot the one to the farthest left!" You ordered. No one moved. In the heat of the moment you couldn't think of the blue paladin's name, getting irritated. "Sharpshooter, do it!"

The wolf disappeared again and the Galra agent looked around, trying to see where he would land next. He never got the chance. He was too distracted to see the beam of light reaching towards him until the very last second, right before he and his entire ship was gradually blown to pieces, starting from the control center.

Allura and the others cheered and you grinned. _Thanks, Wolfe._

The cheer was cut short, though, when three other ships shot at you at the same time, hitting Voltron in her shoulder and chest, before an onslaught of more pulses of light hit you straight on, electricity striking all the paladins, you, and Shiro. When the shots stopped to reload and get ready for another offense, Pidge seemed the only one awake besides you and Shiro, screaming that Voltron wouldn't move. Lance was limp, his arm hanging over the chair.

But then the cheering came back and you caught on to what was happening. "Pidge, shield!" You yell, silencing their hoots. Keith saw the flash of white coming from the end of the tunnels on the other ships and yelled in the affirmative.

They braced for impact. You held onto the back of Lance's seat. You were ready for the attacks when they came, the force of them moving Voltron back even as she kept her shield up. But it wasn't enough. The crew grunted in focus, trying to push it back.

"We have to keep their shots on us so that the Alteans can get away!" Pidge grunted. "But we can't handle much more of this!"

"We have to get closer!" You heard Keith say. The fire stopped and Voltron regained her balance. "Lance, sword!"

Voltron raced towards the large ships, dodging lasers like they're your priorities.

 _At least it's not an entire fleet_ , you thought. Two ships were down and one had been hit earlier so now they only had nine and a half left.

"What happened to the Blade and Matt's team?" Hunk asked as Voltron got out her shield again, blocking the attacks as she moved closer to the fray.

"They must've gotten passed them somehow." Keith answered as your vision switched again. This time you saw Sendak standing with his hands, or hand, behind his back, face as if made of stone.

"Someone is attacking us from the inside!" A trooper told his leader, obviously nervous and in a panic.

Sendak was quiet for a few seconds, turning to the soldier only slightly. He didn't show his irritation in his expression but in his voice, quiet yet booming. "Who?"

"We don't know, Commander. They've been taking out all our guards before they can tell us what's happening."

"Then get _rid_ of it." He growled.

"Yes sir," the soldier stumbled.

"Prepare the ion cannon." Sendak ordered the Galrans sitting at the control center.

"You guys!" You snapped out of your daydream to hear a new voice.

"Matt!" Pidge exclaimed.

"Sorry we're late, got pretty busted up earlier." you heard a voice say. Sounded like Lars from Steven Universe.

"But we're here now. Just tell us what to do." Said Matt.

"We need you to escort those ships out of here,"Keith instructed. "We'll take care of _them_." Referencing the Galran ships." If anything happens to the Alteans then this will all have been for nothing."

"Gotcha!" You couldn't see any of Matt's team through all the beams of light. But it was all soon to stop as your vision flipped again.

Sendak's ship shook as all the lights went off with the droning sound of machinery coming to a stop. Sendak kept himself upright, demanding a damage report.

"Now we can go all out," said Keith having no idea what just happened. You imagined him to be smirking.

"Everything is offline, Commander Sendak." Said one of the agents tapping on buttons and screens, trying to fix and turn on the controls. "All systems are down!"

The wolf stood in front of the core, watching as the lightly armored, lean bodies evacuated after planting some kind of device around the room. The core was blown to pieces and the lights went off as the beings slid into vents and away from the room the way they entered. The wolf saw as the other devices started to blink red and dissipated back into Keith's cockpit.

Keith didn't have time to be surprised about the rebel canine as the Galra's largest ship of the fleet blew up, ricocheting off the other ships and creating a domino effect of explosions. Three small missiles of debris were making their way toward Voltron, but flew right passed them-

And one of them had a face. Time seemed to slow as Keith looked Axza in her face as she passed by in one of the getaway ships so small they hadn't even noticed them beside the fleet. Her eyes twinkled mischievously at him but her expression was stern. She was glaring.

And then she was gone, and all the fleet was blazing white with bubbles bursting into explosions.

Keith wasn't the only one to have noticed, though. "Did anyone else just see that?" Hunk asked in pure shock.

"Did she just..help us?"Lance asked with confusion evident in his voice.

"Doesn't matter now, we need to regroup and make sure everyone is OK." You perked up at the sound of Shiro's voice. There was an edge to it, slim and almost unnoticeable, but there.

"We can't let her get away!" Keith sounded irritated.

"There's nothing we can do. She's already gone." Allura said. "Even if we do go after them, there's no guarantee we'd find out why would Haggar helped us."

 _Haggar?_ Keith and you thought, looking back behind them where the three ships flew off and disappeared into deep space.

Shiro felt another headache coming on.

You and the others find your way to an uninhabited planet currently being used as a hiding spot for the Voltron allies. The lions settle down on the gray dusty rock underneath piles of trees with trunks the width of entire monuments and heights into the atmosphere. You and the paladins walk down the ramp into the mineral thick air and somehow soft land. They meet up with the other captains and aliens, Matt and Vakala accompanying them, checking for casualties. As soon as you hear that the Alteans and aliens were ok, albeit some alert from the Blade and Matt's team having been ambushed, you find your way to the black lion.

Kuron's sitting on the edge of the ramp, eyes closed and shoulders slumped. He doesn't move when you sit beside him.

"You good, bro?"

"If a killer headache counts as good." He replied, pressing his thumb into his temple.

"Honerva again?"

"I don't...I don't know. I hope not. I think it's just another headache."

You nod. "What a development, huh?"

"Ha, you're telling me."

"Well, I guess we're one more step to getting you fixed," you smile encouragingly.

"What?"

"Well, not _fixed_ , but, you know, getting you the help you need."

"Thanks, but I think I'll be ok. Just need to get some fresh air and rest." he paused, changing the subject. "By the way, let's talk about you. You did great today," he opens his eyes finally and looks at you, eyes warm and pupils round.

 _Oh Shia LaBeouf, that's Shiro._

"Where'd you learn to predict attacks like that?"

"Oh, uh," you stood up abruptly. "I have no idea! I kinda just...I just.. _did,_ you know? Anyway, I just remembered- I have to talk to Lance about something. Rest easy, see you later!"

Shiro tried to reach out for you but you were already too far gone. He sighed, watching you go. You were a weird one, surely.

No weirder than them all, he guessed.

You find Lance standing next to a blonde Altean with pink marks on her cheeks. Her posture is open, with a smile on her face and her hands behind her back, leaning towards him cutely. He's making one of his trademarked flirty faces, thin eyebrow arched with the other tucked down, eyes slanted and mischievous, with a smirk that showed all his teeth.

We just got out of a fight with Sendak and he's already flirting? Gosh/fuck, Lance!

You walked up behind him just as he said, "Nah, I'm fine. I'm kinda used to it by now. But if I do get into any trouble I can count on you to fix me up, right Keira?"

Keira laughed behind her hand before replying in the affirmative. Someone behind her called for her and she excused herself, batting her eyelashes at him as she left.

You hooted when she got out of hearing range. "Dude, that was awesome!" you give him a high five for the second time today.

"It's just the ol' natural razzle dazzle," he smirks, resting his hands on the back of his head.

"And the trademark smile, don't forget that." You laugh together. For the rest of the day, you laugh all the way across the universe, sharing jokes and roasting the other paladins behind their back, never stopping until you're at the Altean's new home. Days had passed but you didn't feel it, you fell asleep at some point but you weren't sure when. It's space and all.

By the time you all reach the planet, all park some much needed distance away from each other, it's dark. It looks no different from space, but their brains make the distinction anyway, and as soon as the paladins leave their lions for the first time in two and half, almost three days, they land on the grassy ground and are already half asleep. They're forced awake by Coran and Krolia, who had got a whole different sleep schedule from inhabiting the other ships the passed few days, and made to build a campfire.

Tents are laid out across the widespread of land in a clearing they found surrounded by purple trees. The air is warm from fires dancing in dots around the valley. Camp is set up and many of the Altean families and various mixtures of aliens are settled outside under the dark green and blue sky. Many are celebrating their arrival, others just wanted to see something different after being stuck in one place for so long. Some went out to explore the lands without waiting for daylight, though you weren't sure how long Altean days were here anyway.

Shiro fell asleep by the fire, you to his left with Hunk to your right, snoring. Keith, Lance, and Pidge were on the other side of the fire, asleep as well. It didn't take a long time for Kuron to wake up afterwards, and now it was just you two awake amongst the rest.

"I felt her there. She's still in my head."

"We're gonna get you help, Kuron."

"Have you gotten any of your memories back?"

"Sort of. I don't know. Everything's hazy and doesn't make a whole lot of sense…"

"Trust me, I know. I-, I mean Shiro, went through the same thing."

"You can say I." You remind. "At one point you _were_ Shiro."

"Right...I'm gonna rest." He laid down with his back to you, facing the fire. "Goodnight, Raider."

You laid down too, facing Hunk, who was asleep on his back, arms spread out and drool down his chin. "Goodnight, K."

.

"Aww, that's so cute." Lance teased, looking down at you and Hunk, asleep in each other's arms. His long silhouette stood beside you two, along with Keith's.

Keith rolled his eyes."Leave them alone."

"What? They are!"

* * *

updates will be late thanksgiving week because of holiday blues


	5. The Lost One

Keith examined you from afar, watching you as you interacted with Hunk. Hunk was making all these gestures with his hands, looking down at you as you laughed into your own hand. His grin faded as Lance came up behind him and said something probably annoying by the look of Hunk's face, but you were still laughing. Pidge got up from the couch, holding up some device and said something that made Hunk smile and nod in agreement before they all started laughing together.

A lot of laughing lately…

Keith stood in the door frame, arms crossed as he took in the scene. No one seemed to notice he was there, or if they did they didn't say anything.

It looks like you're really starting to fit in.

But Keith's bad feeling never settled from the first time he came in contact with you. He wasn't sure yet what was going on, but there was something wrong with you. He didn't trust you, even though it seemed like everyone else did. You fit in like a glove there-

But so did Lotor, for a while, and look where that got them. So did that Shiro clone. It's like everything is restarting from the very beginning. Had they really not learned anything? You looked human, but were you? How would you have gotten this deep into space, anyhow? Why have they stopped asking questions? Did you really have no memories at all?

When Voltron fought against Voltron, how were you able to predict their moves? The fight had been a impossible one- let's face it, Voltron, against twelve Galra ships, _alone?_ There's just no way that could have worked. Especially without the Castle of Lions, and _especially_ not when Haggar seemed to be on their side.

This was a trick. Keith didn't trust you and he was sure he had good reasons not to. Whether you were some fake human Haggar made up, or just a pilot with amnesia, he was going to find out. He'd talked about his suspicions with Shiro and was glad he wasn't the only one feeling off.

" _I get headaches around them a lot, but it could be a coincidence. I don't want to make any assumptions, but they do have a aura around them that I just can't wrap my head around…" he said._

He hated to do it, but some investigation was in order.

.

What are you supposed to be doing right now? You looked down at your hands, watched them glow white as a piece of paper, unable to see your skin. You still weren't used to it.

You'd been formulating a plan to help Kuron, but the problem was that you have to _wait_ for something to trigger him for him to come out. He could turn into Kuron when you weren't around, or turn back into Shiro mid-conversation. It was extremely inconvenient, but that's why it is important to help him get his own body. And yet you still don't know how to summon him.

 _Summon him, ha, sounds like we're trying to take the demons out of Shiro._

"Raider!" You hear your name called from behind you.

Shiro's standing at the entrance to the lobby with his arms crossed and a distinct frown on his face. This time you _knew_ it was Shiro because his iris were round instead of sharp and cutting. Kuron couldn't help having such evil looking eyes, he was made that way. But you guess so is everyone…

"Would you care to walk with me for a bit?" And then he smiled, despite the dip in his brows.

"Did I do something?" You ask after walking a bit with Shiro by your side. The sky was bright, as always, and resembled a Earth afternoon, whatever that looked like where you lived. They should change it up. Wasn't there an episode where Coran learned about rain or something? Shiro wasn't too in the mood for talking about the weather, though, it seemed.

"Oh, no, no," he shook his head and smiled naturally. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"And we had to leave the hotel for that?'" you rose a fictional eyebrow.

"I just thought you'd be more comfortable without a crowd."

 _Well, he's half right._

"And also...I know what you're going through."

"Huh?"

"Being stuck in space with no idea where you are? Or when you'll get back home?" He turned his attention to the little alien noodles walking passed them. "Living around..whatever these are?" He smiled sheepishly. "I'm saying that I get it. Or maybe you're completely fine and I'm pestering you for nothing." He turns his attention to where he's walking. You wonder if he has any place in mind that he's taking you to.

A frown dawns your face. "Well, when is anyone completely fine?" You look down at the rocky surface. "You know, I feel like you and Lance are the only ones I spend this much time with compared to the others."

"I'm included in that?"

"Yeah, all this talk about helping you get better, and how we can fix this whole situation at hand-"

You feel Shiro's eyes on you. "We? Look, you don't need to feel obligated to help us. You're a stow away with amnesia. Speaking of, have you triggered any of your old memories yet? I know that at this point I was getting visions of my time as the Galra empire's captive." He quickly adds, "But don't worry, this isn't the type of thing to rush."

 _Don't say anything,_ you think.

 _Say something_ , you think.

 _Lie_ , you think.

 _He'll get suspicious_ , you think.

You change the subject. "I can't let you guys do all the hard work for me. I can be useful too."

 _No I fucking can't._

 _Language!_

"Reed-" Shiro starts.

"No, I get it. I'm a newbie. I'm not even a paladin. Heck, I don't even have all my memories and I'm indecisive as all hell. But I made a promise to you, Kuro, and I'm not-!" You pause.

"...Kuro?" Shiro's voice interrupts the mental backlash you're giving yourself in your head. Your paused brain resumes.

"Shiro! Sorry, messed up my words. I stutter when I'm nervous." You recover, smiling what you thought was convincingly. "As I was saying-"

"Kuro..? That name...sounds familiar." He squints his eyes at you, but not in a threatening way, more like he's thinking. "Raider, where did you hear that name?"

"It was," you gulp, some of you being bad liars and some of you anxious when put on the spot. "It was just misspeach- I mean misspoke..!"

 _Hell, where'd that confidence go?_

 _I've never had confidence in my entire life-_

 _I dunno, probably the same place where my will to live went._

"I've heard that name," Shiro starts to sweat; his temple is visibly throbbing and his right eye twitching. His hand is now grasping your shoulder, keeping you still with just the implication of danger. It would hurt if you could feel anything. "Where have I heard that name!" He's talking to himself, but it's still like he's expecting an answer from you. His iris are switching from sharp to round.

A personality is petrified and it's affecting your whole body. You can't move even if you wanted to. You try to calm yourself down.

 _Hey, hey! Are you having a panic attack?_ One personality yelps in your head.

 _I- I can't breathe? This is just a fanfic, right?_

 _Of course it's just a fanfiction, calm down. You got this!_

 _We'll get out of this._

 _What happened to Shiro?_

 _I'm scared? I can't-_

 _Babe, you can leave at any time. It's ok. It's just a story. You can take a break. We'll wait for you right here._

 _Yeah, it's just a fanfic._

 _Just a fanfic?_

 _Yeah. Just take a deep breath, lie down, and come back when you're ready._

You come back to your senses. Kuron's right in front of you, head hanging, hand still tight on your shoulder.

"Kuron, babe, are you alright?" you push his shoulder, and he gives way just a bit, but still doesn't let go. His grip is loose.

He lifts his head, left eye squeezed shut and right in a squint. "Kuron? Why do you keep calling me that?" And then something seems to come to him and your heart rate spikes painfully. "Wait, you're talking to _it_ aren't you? Keith was right, you are one of them!"

"Shiro, _what_ are you talking about?" You feign ignorance, but he isn't buying it. You back up out of reflex.

Then he's grabbing for you again.

Your key instinct is to fight. You punch him in the stomach and, in his weak state, he's caught off guard. He bends down in pain, cradling his torso. You immediately feel bad about it and run.

 _Why did you do that?_ You yell.

 _I panicked!_

 _We could have_ salvaged _this!_

 _I know, I'm sorry! I don't like being grabbed at, ok!_

 _Honestly I would have did the same thing._

 _You did! You did do the same thing! We're one person! Whatever some of us think we'd probably realistically do in this situation the most is gonna friggin happen!_

 _How did you figure that?_

 _Isn't that how most reader inserts go?_

 _Have you ever_ read _a reader insert?_

You have no idea where you are or where you're going, but your legs are pumping down this strangely long street. Some Bi's ignore you and others are staring in what you weren't sure was amazement or judgement, but you weren't very focused on that right now. You had endless stamina and you wove through whatever alleyways you could find until somehow you found yourself nearing the hotel.

You run straight forward, dipping your head in a laugh, before you crash into something that wasn't there before. You back up, out of breath and nauseous.

 _I'm glad at least one of us was on track team, but holy heck, I'm tired already!_

 _I really need to exercise more._

 _Dude, I don't even go outside!_

You look up, about to move around whatever struck you when you see exactly what, or _who_ , it is. Lance, clad in casual clothing, has a wince on his face and a hand on his forehead.

 _Oh gosh/fuck._

Lance has a clear cup in his other hand filled with something pink and slushy. He must've just turned the corner when you ran into him. "Reed? Are you ok?" He asks as he looks at you worriedly, his walkie talkie-like device in his pocket dinging impatiently. He reaches into his pocket with his free hand and gets it out as Shiro's breathy and distressed voice chokes its way through.

"Raider is working for the enemy. They are now a threat," it cited. "They're hiding somewhere. Don't let them escape! Search the whole city if you have to."

 _Oh, I wouldn't have been_ that _smart._

"Reed?" Lance voice draws your attention back to the situation. He's standing in front of you, lips parted and eyebrows knitted, eyes...betrayed. To the left is where Lance came from, into town; behind you, however far away, is Shiro; ahead is the hotel and to the right is space to run, but there's no way you're much faster than Lance.

You try anyway, busting a right while Lance seems startled, but of course it leads to nothing. Lance grabs your wrist and pulls you back, keeping you still as Shiro did with both hands on your shoulders instead of the one. His drink was spilling on the ground.

"Reed, what's going on?" He shakes you, nonetheless more concerned than angry. Shiro's voice is still playing over the communication device trapped between Lance's hand and your shoulder, but to your surprise, he pulls his hand away and flings it down on the ground, away from you. The voice stops. Lance continues, calm and direct. "I want to understand. All you need to do is tell me."

.

Lance can't believe he's going through with this. He knows he'll be chastised later, if not completely kicked off the team, for this, but it seemed to be one of his noble duties to help this guy. This guy, meaning Kuron. Mostly Shiro. He could care less about Kuron, really, if it weren't such a short difference, apparently. He mostly had to take your word for it. He _couldn't_ be wrong again.

Not again.

He let Shiro down once, he wasn't going to do it again. If helping Reed and Kuron get him a new body would help Shiro become himself again, then he'd "betray" the rest of the team a thousand times over. And he got to know you over these last few months. You weren't a bad person. Heck, if Nyma and Rolo could get a second chance, then so could you.

"You guys!" Making his way towards you was Shiro. Lance was quick to cover you with his arm and move you behind him. Once Shiro got closer, though, he noticed something was off about him.

Lance had taken you away from the city, a few miles out into the mountains somewhere far behind the coalition base. The paladins wouldn't be looking for you there. They may have had a chance if Krolia were still here, but she left that morning to regroup with the Blade of Marmora. With Keith in charge, he was mapping out orders through the comms like he'd been waiting for the chance his whole life. Lance lead them away with discretion. He was a natural liar all of a sudden, taking the chance to drive the paladins away from the base where they needed to be.

But Shiro found them, and Lance recognized those eyes.

Sharp, black, and penetrating. And tired. _Extremely_ tired.

Lance loosened up as Kuron slowed to a stop in front of them.

"Lance," Kuron's features softened into something like awe. "You're here…does that mean you're willing to help?"

"Uh, yeah...I decided," he scratched at the back of his head, eyes wandering to his side, before he pulled his hand out to him. "I would stop doubting my instincts."

Kuron smiled and shook his hand.

"Is it really you? The Shiro that talked to me that day?" Lance asked, suddenly feeling desperate. "When we saw the white lion… Was that you?"

 _My..My head..I'm just feeling so confused..about myself._

Kuron gave him a long look, before nodding once. Lance felt unsure of how to reply back now that he had his answer. Hug him? No, that would be too awkward. Make a joke? Nah…

"Well, ok then." Lance glanced back at you before starting passed Kuron, heading to the hotel's holding bay. "We should get going. It's not gonna take long for the other's to figure out what's going on."

.

So not only were the paladins after you, but you were wanted by the residents too. It's not like they had to struggle to recognize you if they saw you. _You_ didn't even know what you looked like, and it's not like they have any pictures of you. Luckily you had two dudes to cover you as you inched across the courtyard like you were in a cartoon. The Bi's looked at the two young men weirdly but inevitably wrote it off as alien shit/z and went on about their business. Finally you made it to the red lion and was gladly welcomed in by the beast, or Lance, whoever. Lance plopped down in his seat once you reached the cockpit and started up his _sweet thang._ Red was quick in leaving the holding bay and getting out into the air.

"Lance, where are you going?" Pidge asked through the comlink, startling you. You stayed deathly quiet.

"It would be quicker to find them using Red. I can cover more territory that way." Lance made up an excuse on the spot and was glad that it was even slightly plausible. Kuron, Lance, and you fly out of the city, over sand dunes, before lifting up into the sky, into the clouds, and into the stratosphere.

"Did you see that thing go into the clouds over there?... Lance?" Pidge called.

"Was it them? Did they just get away? We gotta follow them!" Allura's voice began.

"No! I'll go, I'm closest!" Lance argued nervously.

"I'll come along as back up." Hunk volunteered.

"What if you run into Haggar like the last time? No, we should all regroup and follow it." Allura pointed out.

"That's stupid! What if they're still here? We'd be giving them a chance to escape!" Lance sighed in relief as Pidge unintentionally took his side.

"Coran and Shiro will stay here and keep an eye out for them." Allura ordered.

"Uhh…" Lance trailed, eyes flickering to his peripherals where Kuron stood. Kuron frowned with teeth. "Shiro's with me! Anyway, I don't see anything, so, there's no need to come up here..!"

There was a good pause. "Lance..?" It was Hunk's voice. "That's your lying voice."

"My what?" Lance screwed up his face, honestly confused. Kuron slapped a hand over his face.

"Your lying voice. The one you make when you're hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything!" He assured with a dangerous crack in his voice.

"Lance," this time it was Keith. "Why don't you want us to follow you?"

"Anyway, when did you even go up there anyway? I didn't see you follow it." Pidge recalled.

Lance was starting to panic so Kuron took over. "Look, guys, it's fine. We don't see anything around but we'll keep looking just in case. You all know Lance." he said the last line tiredly.

"Hey!" Lance furrowed his eyebrows as he started his route into deep space.

You hide a snort behind your hand.

And then, "...Did you guys hear that?" Pidge spoke.

 _Legitimately what?_ You thought, heart beginning to thump hard in your chest.

"It sounded like them," Hunk, oh so beautiful, gentle, and at the moment way-too-bothersome Hunk pointed out.

 _There's no way._

"They're on our comm frequency?" Pidge's pitched voice exclaimed in shock.

 _I'm calling bullshit/crap! Right now! That's not fair!_

 _Dude, what the hell!_ Some of you thought.

"How could you have heard that?" Lance exclaimed before thinking, clapping a hand over his mouth after the fact.

"What do you mean? Lance? Dude, where are you?" Hunk was getting suspicious. They _all_ were getting suspicious.

 _This is what I get for having fun. Holy heck._

"I'm," Lance took in a quick breath, annoyed. "I'm in space! In space!"

"Come back. If you haven't seen anything yet then there's no reason to stay up there. Come on down and we'll regroup." Keith said, calm and collectively.

Lance sucked in air through his teeth.

"You're just making it worse," Kuron mumbled.

"I know I'm making it worse, shut up!" Lance pouted angrily back at him. "Hey, are you guys _sure_ Reed is a bad guy? I mean, why do the same trick twice?"

"It was Shiro who saw them last. They attacked you, you said? Why else would they do that?" Pidge replied.

Both Lance and Kuron looked at you with confusion and slight irritation.

"You attack him?" He whisper-yelled at you. You bared your teeth slightly and shrugged.

"It could have been a friendly punch, or kick, or whatever...happened..!" Lance laughed it off, turning back to the front window.

"Shiro, what _exactly_ happened?" Allura asked.

Kuron froze before turning his gaze to you. He had _no idea_ what was actually going on, did he?

"Seriously, dude?" Lance shook his head at him.

"What? I'm not Shiro, remember?" Kuron whispered back.

"Come up with a convincing lie, it shouldn't be too hard. Ow!" You hit him aside his head.

Kuron's eyes went downcast, before he leaned over Lance's shoulder and talked into the com. "We were talking and...and things got fuzzy," he looked at you and you gestured for him to go on. "I remember feeling like I was..fading out of existence, and then-"

"I accidentally said your name…" you admitted in a low voice, so no one but the two could hear you.

"-I heard a name...Kuron, or something. It's...it's what they called my clone."

"Shiro…" Keith exhaled. Kuron flinched visibly.

"You ok?" Lance asked, frowning in worry.

"You should come back," Keith said in a low voice. "We'll figure everything out when we find them."

You wanted to groan but didn't. Kuron sighed, exhausted. Lance clutched the controls, looking down at his feet. He couldn't believe he was about to do this. "I can't."

"Huh?"

You and Kuron stared at him with wide eyes.

"I can't come back. I'm helping them."

You let out that groan, seeing as the cat's out of the bag now.

"What!" Pidge exclaimed. "Wait, what? Where's Shiro? Shiro, are you there?"

Kuron made a noise. "Uehmm..kinda?" he rose a eyebrow at you. _Should I just say it?_

You shrug. _It's your choice._

"I'm..not..Shiro." And for the first time, he actually believed it.

You could hear the paladins start to question him, but one voice stuck out, silencing the others. "You're _him_ , aren't you?" Keith didn't say it like a question. He knew. He knew something was up, he knew something was out of place, and it was right in front of him. He never got through to Shiro, not fully. He felt dread slowly start to seep into his heart, but he ignored it for the more present anger bursting through its chains. "How long?" His voice was cold.

Kuron hesitated, peeked at Lance and you looking at him, then at the neverending abyss of space in front of him, going so fast that the stars were blurs of white streams. "Since the fight."

There was deafening silence. And then the comm went mute.

"Keith? Keith?" Pidge called for him.

Hunk's voice picked up. "Dude, what is going _on_?" He was asking Lance.

"Lance, what exactly do you think you're doing? They're with the enemy!" Allura's distress was evident in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I have to do this. There's no way I can believe that." Lance started to fly the red lion faster. _I won't make the same mistake, again._

"Lance-!"

He cut off his comlink.

.

You weren't surprised by the Time-skip this time. You saw it coming from a mile away. The red lion now floated in front of a grey planet covered in clouds and a large strange shaped comet that looks like a shard of black diamond. Around it is a bunch of debris picking off a oddly smooth-looking edge of the comet.

"Here it is." Lance said. "The others are right on our tails. You better hurry up before they get here."

 _We were getting chased?_

 _We missed a chase scene?_

 _The author must've been too lazy to write it._

 _How do they know where we're going?_

 _Keith… Remember? He fought Kuron here._

 _And also possibly Pidge. She probably has a tracker on us._

 _They have trackers on_ all _the lions. They're connected. Like, spiritually._

"Let's go." Kuron taps your shoulder and starts out the back.

You both put on some leftover space suits from the cargo hold and once the lion lands you make your way onto the surface of the comet.

"This way," Kuron says and leads you through the many corridors and open spaces of the old Galra base. He doesn't talk the entire way. Kuron's walking quite fast, and you jog to keep up his pace. You observe him. The hand he has left is gripping the walkie talkie Lance gave him before you left the lion and his eyes are glaring into the distance as he walks.

"Kuron? Are you ok?"

"Huh?" He seems to snap out of it and looks at you. "Oh, uh, yeah..sorta…"

"We're almost there, dude. Then we can be out of here and done with this whole mess." You assure, looking ahead of you. There's nothing but a black corridor, leading to a pink door at the far end. The Galra sure love their black, don't they?

He looks down. "What'll happen when we separate? Me and Shiro?"

"You'll be free?"

"No, but, what will happen to _me_? Where will I go?" His feet came to a stop. His sharp black eyes struck you. "I doubt the paladins would welcome me with open arms."

 _Oh shit, we didn't think this out, did we?_

 _No, the_ author _didn't think this out._

 _You guys, I just wanted to hang out with my Garrison kids._

 _Ok but Lance is on our side, right? He'll figure something out._

 _Why do we have to come up with something? That's the author's job, right?_

"Lance!" You end up screaming. You cough. "Lance will help us out. Look, you don't need to worry about that. This is what you wanted! To be your own person, right?"

He takes a minute to smile. "Right."

You both start for the door again.

"During the fight, most of them got lost." He says as you walk in behind him. You're outside and he's facing the stairs that you climb up to a deck filled with dark containers and the planet on the horizon. "But fortunately, there's still some left." He walks up behind you. "We'll have to destroy the rest when we're done here."

You turn to ask why but the look on his face says it all. You close your mouth. After a few moments of silence with Kuron directly ignoring facing any of the containers filled with basically mannequins sharing his face, you sigh. "Ok, so.." You look around. "How are we gonna do this?"

"...I have no idea." Kuron admitted, suddenly embarrassed. "I didn't think this far."

"You guys, they're here!" Lance's voice picked up from the walkie talkie. "I'll try to hold them back as long as I can. Whatever your plan is, you should hurry it up!"

You grin at Kuron, ignoring the urgent news. "Didn't think we'd get this far, huh? You gotta have more faith in me." You joke around and elbow his side, despite your internal panic.

"Yeah, I do. It's just…" Kuron's gaze stick to the clone in front of him, eyes closed and hair fully black, both arms by its side.

"Seriously, why are you doing this, dude?" Hunk's voice comes through the walkie talkie, drowned by the sound of explosions.

"I can't let a friend get hurt again because of me! I ignored Shiro's cry for help the first time, I'm not doing it again!" You hear Lance defend.

"But you're not helping Shiro, Lance! Don't you get that? They're with the bad guys!" Pidge presses. The clangs of fighting persist.

"You wanna know who tried to tell me that Shiro was in trouble?" Lance yelled back. "Kuron!"

You saw Kuron perk up. The communication device in his hand drops to the floor. You pick it up and idly check for bruises, listening to it all the while.

"Kuron, who had _no idea_ what was going on, came to _me_ to tell me his problems." Lance admitted. "We played _Monsters and Mana_ with him, you guys! You seriously don't believe that for one second- no, for the _months_ that he was here in place of Shiro, that he was just as oblivious as us?"

You kept your focus on Kuron, but he was still, eyes frozen to the creature in the test tube before him.

There's silence, Until you hear a especially loud, "No! Wait!"

More shooting. "Keith!" Lance again. Then he's talking to you. "I'm sorry, you guys, Keith's coming your way!"

 _Fuck!_

 _Holy hell.._

 _I'm so fucking done with this shit, man._

 _What is this, a video game? Did we lose?_

You return your attention to Kuron, whose eyes are closed and his head tipped down.

"We're gonna fix this," you try to assure.

Something breaks in him, and he falls to the ground, sitting with his legs crossed and his head low. "These used to be me."

You try to walk up to him but he stops you with a raised palm.

At the same time, you see Keith running down a dark corridor you went through on the way here. Keith's run slows into a walk, before he stops completely. Then you see Pidge, face in shock, then Hunk, then Lance. They're hearing you over the walkie talkie.

"I don't deserve this, Raider….This life isn't mine. Look at this!" He gestures to the coffins. "This is what I am! I'm just glad that when Shiro gets his new body..this will all be over…" his voice falls into a mumble, his white bang swaying over his face. "They're going to kill me anyway, just let them get it over with."

Someone, you're not sure who, or how many, but a part of you gets angry. So angry, that it flows throughout you. You may or may not have been the one who it was coming from, but you could feel it, hear it, maybe even smell it. It was such a powerful feeling that you could barely keep it from seeping out into your voice.

"What, so you're just giving up?" You asked, to no avail. He didn't answer. You waited just a few more seconds before it became unbearable to someone. ''Stand up."

He looks at you through the corner of his red and glittering, sharp eyes.

"Stand up and bend down so I can slap you!" You glare with such ferocity that Kuron even flinches. Another personality adds, "You're way too fucking tall, man." Your grip on the communication device tightens. "We didn't come this far, risk Lance's and our relationship with the paladins, just for you to sit there and feel _sorry_ for yourself! Who cares that this is where you're from? You're your own person! We've talked about this, Kuro!" Your voice cracked and you felt a stray tear fall down your face, loan and rare for a great many.

 _Dude, I do this everyday, who you playin?_

 _I don't even have the energy to cry anymore, to be honest._

 _What is crying? Is that a snack?_

You continue to fume, press your words into him as much as you can, dig them in deeper. He's _not_ going into his new body just to die. Not your son. You'll make sure of that or you'll kill him yourself. "I'm not giving up on you so you're sure as hell not gonna give up on yourself. Now stand the _fuck_ up and let me figure this out."

.

In the back of your head, you see Keith turn around and head back to his lion.

.

"Dude, you don't have to _cry_ about it," Lance said afterwards, a little smile on his face.

Kuron does get up. He's still a little miserable, but it's more of a dull ache than anything. It was better than he was used to. Actually, the headache he usually always felt thrumming on his temple was gone for once. He guesses that Shiro is finally on his side.

You, on the other hand, have no idea where to go from here. You walked around the deck, to the edge, where you looked out into space. Space was the new blue sky, stars the baby clouds. You could see the whole planet from here. It didn't help you think much. You turned around and looked at all the clones, tapping their glass tube and watching them all light up pink. You kneeled down and inspected all the clones, just out of pure restlessness that you weren't coming up with any ideas.

Another few minutes pass. You hummed to yourself, wrinkling your nose and tapping your cheek. "We need Allura."

"Did someone say _Princess_?" A voice says from beside you. Walking up the stairs to the deck was no other than the Altean princess and her noble steed Keith.

Kuron's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he couldn't help but joke after his stunned silence. "They said Allura." It seems your humor was infectious.

You stand up and face her. "You decided to help us?"

She stops in front of you, arms crossed and a bit of irritation on her perfect features. "I came to help _Shiro_. If we didn't have him, who would put some sense into the rest of these fools- I mean _darling companions._ " She smiled when Keith looked at her.

 _My daughter._

"Then let's get started, huh?" A warmth kindled in your chest. You grinned at Kuron, who had a look of amazement on his face.

.

He feels like death, but also has never felt more alive. He keeps his eyes closed as he sits up in his- _his,_ _not Shiro's_ \- body. He can still feel the warmth from Allura's heavenly touch on his temples. He felt it. He felt when Shiro was guided out of him, the moment he became his own. It was like waking up and drinking water first thing in the morning. It was like peeling back the wrapping of a Christmas present. It felt _good_. Good to be alone.

Finally, by himself.

Kuron groaned, putting a hand on his forehead. Allura, Keith, and you were so close he could feel your body heat. It was a comfort.

In seconds it was all gone. The comfort, the peace. All of it, when a vision came to him. He gasped so lightly, you barely caught it, but just as quick he was breathing fine again.

And then he said, "I know where Honerva is.."


	6. The Axe-Wielding Shapeshifting Prophet

I'm gonna fudging kill you with this one you guys

Excuse the lame fight scenes, man, I don't know what I'm doing

This is a trip, I'm trying to finish this fic before the 14th

* * *

"So, uh, do you guys forgive me?" You ask, holding the unconscious Kuron on your shoulder. He passed out shortly after dropping the bomb earlier. Looking up at them now, towering over you with their arms crossed and their expressions hard, the three paladins were intimidating. Keith stood away from them, leaning against an empty case that once held Shiro's new body. Lance was behind you, having just sat Shiro up in his sleep for lifting. He stopped to gauge his teammates reaction.

Hunk's bulbous nose screwed up and he sniffed once before enveloping you in his large arms.

"Whoa, ok there, buddy. A simple yes would've been enough!" But you hugged him back just as tightly.

He pulled away and gathered Kuron up and over his shoulder. He turned his back to you, sniffing comically. "I'll take him back to my lion and get him hooked up."

"Dude, are you crying?" Lance laughed in shock, grinning behind you.

"No!" Hunk defended as he quickly stalked off.

Keith smiled to himself, hiding it once he heard Lance call him.

"Help me carry him back." He gestured to Shiro, whose chin was against his neck, black hair swaying, as Lance tried to pick him up from under his shoulders. Keith lifted himself from the tube and helped Lance carry Shiro to the black lion. "Dang, his metal arm is heavy!"

"Yeah, well, we have a long way to walk so you better not complain all the way there."

"Awww, you know you love the sound of my voice."

A scoff. "Barely."

Once they were gone, the only ones left were Pidge, Allura, and you. Allura didn't look in the least amused, but you couldn't really gauge Pidge's expression. She/They looked upset, but you weren't sure if it was about you or not.

"Well _I_ don't forgive you. What you did was dangerous!" She said, voice more concerned than it was angry. She placed her hand on your shoulder and knitted her thin white eyebrows. She's taller than you. "I was worried about you, I..I shouldn't have doubted you," she admitted, thinning her lips. "but with all that's happened, you must understand why we have to be cautious towards things like this."

"Yes ma'am," you nodded. She drew you into a long hug.

"Well then, it's time to go." She said after pulling away.

"I can't believe after all this time we're going back." Pidge muttered.

"Going back?" You lifted your eyebrows. "To earth?"

"No, to planet Arus."

"Coran contacted us earlier and said that the Olkari were finished building a new base on planet Arus." Allura turned her blue eyes to the pink tubes of clones. "It's where we, Coran and me, woke up back when we first met the paladins." Her eyes narrowed at the clones before turning back to the stairs. "We'll be staying there for awhile. We are starting to overstay our welcome, despite what Bii Boh Bi says."

"You understand that thing?" Pidge asked incredulously.

"Coran's taught me a little." She smiled at Pidge. "We need to destroy this place quickly and pick up our things along with Coran. Come on, Raider."

"Um," Pidge perked up. "Go on ahead. We'll catch up."

You blinked, watching Allura leave through the door from atop the stairs. Pidge climbed up to you. Just before you could ask what was wrong, the green paladin embraced you. You froze up in surprise as she/they whispered, "Thank you…" and let go.

.

A brilliant blast of fire now entertained where the Galra base had once been. They left the black diamond, now blown to pieces, behind as they made their way to the coalition base. Once they reached the base, they laid Shiro and Kuron on the couch in the lobby. Shiro was slowly but surely waking up by the time Hunk finished making food for everyone. The oldest paladin, aside from Allura, sat up groggily on the couch. Eyes blinking into focus, he wondered where he was and how he got there. But then he saw his body laying across from him on the couch adjacent to his, and he paused.

His body was asleep on its side, lines under his eyes and thick white eyebrows furrowed up under the patch of white hair hanging down over his face. For a second, Shiro couldn't move, couldn't think. His brain just stopped.

Then he looked down at himself, his outfit changed to something completely new, one of his arms still made of metal, and _there_. He had a arm.

Was he dead? He felt his chest, his legs, trying to see if he still felt touch, eyes back on the body. It was breathing. So, no, he wasn't dead.

"Shiro?"

With wide eyes, he turned to the sound of a voice. Lance stood there in casual clothing, looking a little nervous.

"L-Lance," Shiro's voice trembled. "What is happening? Who is that?"

Lance gave him a awkward grin. "Uh..yeah, about that.."

Lance went on to explain the last couple of hours to Shiro, midway through Allura came in to check on him.

"Well, it certainly is a surprise.." He looked down into his lap, smoothing out the black locks on his forehead. "But I gotta say, I haven't felt this good since before Zarkon's attack."

"Really?" Allura asked, hands grasping one another in her lap.

"Yeah…"

Hunk took that opportunity to come in with a plate of food. The scent made his stomach rumble. Hunk handed the warm plate to him with a smile. "This is for you. Glad to have you back, buddy."

He accepted the plate with a small smile. Hunk was always a sweetheart, wasn't he? They needed to appreciate him more. Shiro's never really said how much he appreciates him for being the voice of reason of the group.

"Thanks, Hunk." He said with a rough voice. He groaned, or rather, he heard himself groan. It took him a moment to realise it wasn't him. He looked towards the other couch and caught his clone starting to sit up.

Kuron yawned into his hand and stretched, eyes still closed.

"Oh! You're awake!" Hunk said, making Kuron blink tired, unaware eyes. Slitted iris's were in place of Shiro's old round ones. "I made a plate for you too, wait a sec!" Hunk set off out of the room, down and across the hall.

Shiro watched him, kind of stunned. As soon as the clone caught his eyes, he paused as well. Neither of them said anything for a long time. Shiro out of just pure shock, and Kuron out off nervousness. What was he supposed to say? _Hey, it's me, the clone that ruined your life and thought he was you for almost a year!_

Lance looked back and forth from the two. Finally, out of annoyance, he interrupted the silence,"Ok, we get it, you look alike. _Talk_."

They both blinked.

"Oh, uh, hey…" Shiro scratched the back of his head.

"Hey.." Kuron looked down at his lap, avoiding Shiro's eyes. "I'm sorry about..all of this." He moved his hand in a waving gesture. He still only had one arm, but Shiro had gotten a completely new body. He wondered why his hair hadn't turned white like before.

Shiro nodded but stayed silent. His staring would have made the situation even more awkward if it weren't for Hunk coming in with another plate of food.

"Here ya go," he handed the plate to Kuron, who took it gratefully.

"Appreciate it." He looked down at it, realizing he couldn't lift the utensils on the side of the plate, and put the plate down on his lap before grabbing a fork with his remaining hand. It wasn't ideal, but it was what he had and he was glad for it.

Shiro watched in awe.

"Where's Raider?" Kuron asked, looking back up at Hunk.

"Uhhh," Hunk thought for a moment. "I dunno. I think she's- I mean they are helping Pidge pack up."

"Pack up?" Kuron asked. Shiro brought his attention to Hunk.

"Oh, yeah, we're leaving soon. You," he turned to Shiro. "or you, should start getting your stuff together. We're heading out tomorrow."

"Actually, I think you two should rest some more." Allura put in. Kuron hadn't even noticed she was there. "Keith is already packing your things for you. You should eat and go back to sleep. We all should." She looked to Lance.

"Yeah, today was _exhausting_." As if on cue, a yawn ripped from his mouth. "I'm gonna head to the dining hall. You guys are free to join, if you're feeling up to it." He started for the door.

"Yeah, but don't strain yourself." Hunk followed after him. "Lance, don't. Touch. Anything."

"Wait," Shiro stopped Hunk before he could get out the door. "Hold on just a minute."

Hunk walked backwards into the room before turning around. Allura rose an eyebrow.

"I..before I woke up, I had this vision…"

"You saw it too?" Kuron asked.

 _I know where Honerva is..._ Allura gave them a grave look. "Whatever it is, it can wait. We've already been through enough today, as it is. Both of you need to get your rest."

They both nodded, looked at each other, then at their food.

"Wow, this will be awkward to explain once we get back to Earth." Hunk laughed, trying to clear the air. The others just stared at him. He ended his laugh with a cough. "That is, if we ever get back."

"We can't go until we find a new Galra emperor." Kuron said.

"And who knows how long _that_ will take?" Shiro mumbled in agreement.

Hunk pointed to the two. "Hey, this could be fun! It's like having a twin brother! You'll get used to it."

"You have a twin?" Kuron asked.

"No, but I have a pair of twins in my family." Hunk replied with a genuine smile. He felt Allura touch his shoulder.

She smiled at them. "You should eat. Your food will get cold." And with that they left, leaving the two "twins" to themselves.

 **.**

As soon as they closed the door behind them, they saw you and Pidge walking towards them.

"Oh, did you guys finish up?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah," Pidge replied. "Raider here was just going to check up on Kuron and Shiro. I smelled food so I was just gonna grab a plate."

"Oh, then I should…" Hunk looked at the wall, trailing off as he noticed their wavy reflection in the clean surface. "get some as well…" He squinted at the wall, counting the number of reflections as the others talked. One..two...three…

"Are you coming Allura?" Pidge asked in the background.

Allura's stomach spoke for her, choosing in that moment to growl. She smiled sheepishly with a hint of red on her dark cheeks.

Hunk counted again, looking back and forth from you to the wall and not seeing you there. He blinked, clearing his eyes.

You see him looking around confused, but you're paying more attention to the Princess and the scientist than him. You start to walk passed them, Hunk trying to watch you walk through your invisible reflection.

"I'm gonna head on in. I'll see you in a few minutes." You said before opening the door to the lobby and walking in.

Pidge and Allura head on while Hunk's still thinking, before he realizes he's standing there alone and runs after them, catching up to Pidge.

As they walk, he whispers, "Hey, did you notice that Reed doesn't have a reflection?"

"What are you talking about?" The green paladin voice was low and unbelieving, eyes forward and brain on food.

"I'm serious!"

"Get some sleep, Hunk. We need you awake for when we move out." Pidge ignores his jutted lower lip and dipped eyebrows.

 **.**

"How are my baby boys?" You walk into the lobby with your arms spread and a grin on your face. Kuron tiredly smiles at you as you come forth and give him a hug from the side, leaning over the back of the couch. He leans into it, patting your upper arm with one hand. You cross to the other couch and hug Shiro too.

"Cuddly today, huh?" Shiro smiles up at you. It's only been a couple hours since the whole procedure, yet a new chapter always seems like a entire week has passed by.

 _Wink wink._

"Your hair is black. It looks weird." You casually brush your fingers through his hair.

 _Ew, stop. That's gross._

 _Ew, affection!_

 _You guys are so negative!_

"Sorry. Next time I'll ask Allura to get it in red." He said sarcastically.

"See, I feel like the only one who noticed that your name is Shiro and your hair is black, and his name is Kuron, and his hair is white. It should be the opposite," you point at Shiro with a thumb out. "But it _isn't_. Which is irritating."

 _Shout out to the OCD people reading with me!_

"I think I might change my name," Kuron took a bite out of whatever it was he's eating. He slides the fork from between his lips before turning to you and Shiro. "Kuron doesn't really fit me, don't you think?"

"It's your slave name." You said. Shiro reacted by almost spitting out his food, covering his mouth in surprise. "What? What did I say?"

The two twins look at each other before bursting out laughing. You look between them, having never gotten your answer.

 **.**

You didn't have to live the whole moving experience, again, for some of you. You found yourself, with a blink, somewhere you recognized but weren't cognitively functioning properly to know where just yet. You were quick in gathering yourself, reading the next few lines to understand what exactly was going on. The paladins moved to planet Arus, where they, as soon as they were rested, were promptly dressed in weird garb by Coran and given directions to the nearest solar system

"We need to find someone to be emperor, before someone else comes along. And I think I know someone who will fit the bill." Coran said with a nod and his hands on his hips, bending and straightening his legs in excitement and emphasis.

"And that's why we're at the _space mall_?" Lance asked, furrowing his eyebrows at the ginger man and picking at the hem of his short brown cloak.

"We're gonna find the new Galra emperor... _here_?" Keith crossed his arms, eyebrows low and frown apparent. _This was ridiculous,_ he thought, but he wouldn't dream of saying it to Coran's face.

"Not find him, _find_ him." Coran realized what he said didn't make any sense and started again. "I already know who he is! We are set to meet here!"

"Tell me why we're meeting this guy at the space mall again?" Hunk asked, obviously not impressed either by Coran's antics either.

"Yeah, and when did you even have time to plan this, anyway?" Pidge put in. "And how do you know this guy?"

"Oh bup, bup, bup! Questions, questions! You all are a curious lot, aren't you?" He crossed his arms and looked at them irritatedly. "It's the perfect place to look natural! Hidden in plain site! No one will suspect us."

"We're not gonna be hidden wearing these," Kuron pulled at his tunic.

"And we're the paladins of Voltron. There's _no way_ we won't get recognized." Lance brought to attention.

.

"Do I know you?" The annoyed alien asked before walking away, leaving a unbelieving Lance to himself.

"I gotta go check out how Vrepit Sal's is doing…" Hunk mumbled, beginning to walk off in the direction he knew the restaurant was in.

"This _isn_ 't a field trip, Hunk!" Shiro grabbed his shoulder before he could walk away.

"Oh come on, it's just for a few seconds!" Hunk whined, pouting with his eyebrows dipped down.

"Is Shiro being a Space Dad, again?" Pidge came up from behind the yellow paladin.

"We said no, and that's final." Kuron crossed his arms and dared them to disobey him with his sharp eyes.

"Aw! Now we have a Space _Mom_ , too?" Pidge rolled brown eyes and faced away from the twins.

"You take that back, young lady!.. Or nonbinary person!"

"Do you know or don't you?" Pidge argued. "You don't understand me at all!"

In seconds the two were laughing so hard Kuron had to put his hands on his knees to stop from falling over. It felt weird to you how quickly the team had just accepted Kuron after everything that happened. You guess you really were worried for nothing. Shiro and Kuron seemed to be getting along better than you thought they would, too. But that's probably because they're technically the same person. You smiled to yourself, before a hand touched your shoulder and surprised you.

Coran stood behind you, a grave look on his face despite one eye being behind a black eyepatch. "Reed, you're blowing our cover!" He had a pair of clothes in his other arm, and he started to drag you towards the boys(?) bathroom. Really, you weren't sure which bathroom it was but the symbol over it was blue and Coran was taking you there, so who really cared?

"Get dressed!" He shoved the clothes into your arms before leaving you to yourself, not even glancing at you in the mirror, or the lack of _you_ in it. You did as you were told, quickly clothing yourself and looking into the mirror. There was nothing in the space where you stood, just the empty stalls behind you. You didn't have to think about it long, though, before Kuron made his way in.

"Oh! So this was where you were." He said, walking in. "You look good."

"Oh, who, me?" You dramatized, putting a hand over your heart and smiling cockily. You turn back to where your reflection should be. "I wonder what I look like in this disguise…?"

"Huh?" Kuron gasps softly as you begin to glow brighter. It's just a flash of light. For a second, you go blind, but the next thing you see when your eyes clear up is a body you've never seen before. A face you don't recognize but moves as you do. Your soft olive skin, big round brown eyes, hair covered by a scarf that you'd wrapped around your head in a disguise, a round face with a pointed chin, and a petite nose. You're clothes were all shades of black and grey, draping from your body stylishly, reminding you of something uniquely steampunk. You're face was extremely feminine, and a good amount of you started to feel extremely uncomfortable after the wonder of it all faded.

"Whoa…" you muttered, before trying it again. There wasn't a flash this time when you changed, but as if your eyes got extremely blurry. For a second you thought you'd need glasses (again) until you see that your taller, more masculine, with thin almond eyes, a leaner face, and fluffy brown hair poking out of the scarf. Your skin was lighter- beige- and your nose was more pointy.

 _The whitest I'll ever be._

 _I'm so pale I mix in with paper, bro!_

Kuron's eyes widen and he comes to stand beside you, hand on your shoulder.

"I had no idea I could do that!" You scream excitedly. He's looking at you in the mirror.

"I thought you were human…" He trails, breathless.

"Who says I'm not?" You smirk up at him.

.

"Oh! Raider, there you are! You were taking your time, weren't you?"

Hunk turns around, gets one look at you, and doubletakes. "That's Reed? You got a complete makeover, didn't you!"

"I'm not seeing that much of a difference," Lance rose a thin eyebrow, looking from Hunk's amazed face beside him to you standing next to Kuron.

"Nevermind all that. What's important is that you look presentable for meeting the new emperor." Coran said, fixing your clothes for you.

"What? _They're_ meeting him?" Lance asked from behind the gorgeous man.

"Yes. Galzack said he'd feel too endangered if any of the paladins were to gang up on him." Coran replied, pulling back and placing his hands on his hips, admiring his handiwork.

"Then why did we even come!" Lance screamed in his high-pitched boyish voice, crossing his arms and making his trademarked angry-pouty face.

Coran ignores him. "So we're set to head to the old Gonflubian antique store on the north side." He leaned in to whisper to you, "No one goes there, anymore. Gonflubian antiques have lost all their worth after fifty thousand years of inflation."

 **.**

The store is empty and dark, and you wonder how no light makes its way in from the wide open doors you walk through. It's so silent it's like the part of a horror movie where you know you're gonna get jumpscared. Allura, Lance, and Keith are standing watch outside. Lance is leaning against the door with his arms crossed and anger on his features from not getting any action. Allura waves you in with a sweet supportive smile, really wanting to go explore the mall for herself, seeing as it was her first time being there. Keith was silent and brooding as usual, picking at his mother's knife.

You see him, leaning between the corners of the room, passed the cash register. It's so dark you can barely see his face, but from what you can see, he looks young, his features soft. He has fluffy purple sideburns and two big dog ears on the sides of his head, facing away from each other. That's the outline you can see the most of. And then there's his eyes, gold and glowing. He steps forward. You stop.

"You the one Coran told me about?"

 _I'd hope so,_ you didn't say. You nod.

"Is the deal still on?" He asked, eyes squinting down at you as he came closer. His face was a little more easy to see. "If I accept to partner with Voltron, will I become the new Galra emperor?"

"Yes." You remember Coran telling you to say yes to whatever the Galran says.

"And I'll have your protection during the Kral Zera?"

"Most definitely."

"And during the entirety of my reign?" He asks. You nod.

He raises his hand. "Then it's a deal."

You shake his hand, and it's done. Before the moment is over, a wild movement under your feet causes you to fall over, only barely catching yourself with a foot stomped forward. The ground shakes under you and Galzack, and before you know what's going on, there's screams coming from behind you, in the mall.

"It's an attack!" Someone yells, and you run your way outside, standing next to the alert, rebelliously-dressed Allura.

She scowls and looks at the rest of the team. "We gotta get back to the lions and get our armor!" With that, the team and you take off running. You don't have any armor, but you feel the need to go find Kuron and Shiro.

And something else... You feel something urge at the back of your mind. You look back at the abandoned shop, but Galzack is gone.

.

"It's Honerva, she's here. I _feel_ her," Kuron says at the bottom of the black lion's ramp. Shiro had gone in already to get dressed. Kuron's technically not a paladin of Voltron, and you can tell by the way he's sweating and slowly filling with irritation that it bothers him. He's having a vision, he says, but it's so blurry, so vague...he can't get a clear picture.

"I'm wondering how she knew we were here!" Hunk jumps out of the yellow lion, running towards the entrance as aliens run out, screaming.

Lance comes out of the red lion, on the other side of you. "Kuron, are you ok? You can sit this one out."

"No!" He takes in a few deep breaths, standing to his full height, squeezing his eyes shut for a few moments. "No, I'm fine. I'm coming in with you."

Shiro runs out of the red lion next, glancing at Kuron with a nod before running in behind Lance. When Keith exits, you both follow him.

Kuron helps the citizens escape as a shop blows up somewhere upstairs, close to the entrance. You're stopped by Lance's arm, his gun in his other hand. He hands you something. "Take this. You'll need to defend yourself."

You look down at the weapon. It's a large axe that's not all too heavy, to your surprise. You weigh it, then grasp the handle and do a quick, nonlethal swing. It fits well in your hands, but it's not the weapon some would have chose.

 _Do I know how to wield this thing? Does one of us know how to use this?_

 _At least some of us have played video games._

 _Maybe one of us has gone hunting before? Or taken karate classes?_

You yelp as another store explodes next to you, across from the store you're standing in front of. A girl with long red...hair(?) walks out of the fire, completely unperturbed. It's Ezor.

"Oh man, not them again." Lance groans. He steps forward, talking with his back to you. "You keep moving. I'll handle her."

You don't need any more confirmation before running off, some of you wanting to see the fight and the other half knowing they'd only get in the way. _And also, not dying is a thing._

You turn a corner, running farther into the mall and pointing any stray aliens to the nearest unoccupied exit, now that Lance and Ezor were in a fight at the entrance. The runners start to clear out from in front of you and you're heart stops for a second when you see a familiar face standing alone, behind everyone. Her hair is long and white and her skin is olive, with purple streaks going down her cheeks like tears. Her dress flows over the floor, like a bride's, and she's staring you down from afar.

You feel frozen to place.

"You...who _are_ you?" She asks, sounding genuinely confused. Her voice..oh you recognized that voice.. "Why can't I see you?"

Your arm is grabbed and you can't even react before you're pulled to the side, into a space between two walls. The bathroom doors are on either side of you, and Shiro is shaking you, hands on your face, calling your name. Or your fake name. That's right, Reed isn't your real name, is it?

What is your real name? Shiranai Atsune? No, that's a username. Telinda? No, another username...Echoing.. What the hell? Why can't you remember your own name?

"Raider! Snap out of it!" You focus your eyes on Shiro's face, scarless and worried. "Yeah, there you go. You alright?"

You look around with wide eyes. Your axe is on the floor. "...Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright."

"Good." He looks out into the opening. "That's not her. And if it was, you couldn't fight against her anyways."

Kaori? Is that your name?

"Huh? Oh…" You look down at his hands on your arms. He notices and backs off. "Wait, you know where she is?"

"Sorta.. She has these illusions set up everywhere to mess with us, but I can see through her eyes." He says.

"How do you know she can't see through yours?"

"Because," he said, putting his back to the wall and peeking out into the mall. "She hasn't tried using me yet...and she's looking for something."

Realization hits you. "Or some _one_."

He looks back at you, and then he gets it too. "Galzack."

 **.**

Keith and Allura left Hunk and Pidge to Zethrid to search for Acxa. They were just on the far south side of the mall when they heard a explosion louder and more disruptive than the others. The crash was abrupt and rang through the entire mall. Smoke came from the scene and even from where they were they could see the huge gap in the ceiling.

"You space pirates again! _You_ did this!" A voice got there attention. A large Galran man was running towards them, fist raised in the air. As Varkon rushed closer, Keith heard a whimper. Turning to the sound, he saw two kids underneath some called debris, hiding more than being trapped. The kids saw that they'd drawn the two paladins to themselves and drew in even deeper into the cave.

"Oh, no, it's ok," Allura leaned down and smiled at them.

"We're here to help." Keith said in a soft voice. The two children looked at them with wet big yellow eyes and slowly made their way out of the grey waste. Keith helped lift them out before carefully handing them to the security officer. "Get them somewhere safe."

Varkon scowled. "This wouldn't have happened if you-"

"Take them and go!"

"But..!" The man glared at them, growled, then turned around with the two kids in arms and ran towards the nearest exit.

 **.**

Kuron found Shiro and you huddled up in the bathroom area. "Have you seen her too?"

"Not the real one." Shiro said, looking out again and seeing that Honerva had disappeared. "I can't get a good image in my head."

"Me either." He said. You walked out into the open, axe in hand.

 _I really wanna fuckin' use this axe._

 _Do you even_ know _how to use this thing?_

 _I've watched Youtubers play Getting Over It._

 _That's a hammer._

 _Subscribe to Pewdiepie, I gotta do my part. We have to beat T-series!_

 _What the fuck?_

 _Random…_

Honerva is coming at you with a staff, Shiro and Kuron too busy talking to see her sneak up. Her arms are raised over her head and her weapon comes down for a lethal blow.

That's what you see anyway.

"I feel her around here somewhere," Kuron says as Shiro leans up and clenched his hands in excitement. His body is pumping with blood, and he's ready to punch something.

You turn around, just in time to see Honerva raising her staff, and with lightning fast reflexes, you swing your axe overhead and cut off her torso before it disappears in a cloud. You expected it to be fake. The attack was too simple and unlike her. She used magic, not fists. Kuron and Shiro caught sight of her at the last second, as she disappeared. Another illusion.

And another, from behind Shiro as he was focused on the one you just defeated a second ago. You move swiftly behind him and swing sideways, her stomach cut in half and your axe getting stuck in the wall for the few seconds it takes you to pull it out.

 _Hell yeah_ …

"Raider, how..?" But Shiro has to wait to question it, as more and more fakes appear in the large area. All of them fakes, as he can tell. She's _messing_ with them. Shiro let's his instincts take over and leave questions for later. He runs at them, hand glowing, and slices them like cake.

 _I hate violence, you guys, but I love this show..!_

Kuron groans, a sudden pain hitting his temples, and drops to his knees. He's seeing something. Something black and brown, clearing up, it's dark, a room..a shop! And a long flowing purple dress. She's here, somewhere. Somewhere close- he..he can't _see_ it, right. Why can't he _see her?_

You kneel down next to him. "Kuron? Kuron!" You try to get his attention. He notices you, squeezing his eyes shut and leaning against you, groaning, muttering something: _I see her I see her I see her._

"It's ok, it's ok, you're gonna be ok." You try to calm him down. Shiro sees you and starts to run back but you stop him with a raised hand. "Let me do this!" You place both hands on his face, make him look at you. "Kuron. It's gonna be alright. You got this."

"She's gonna kill me." He says. " She's here for me."

 _She's here for Galzack,_ you think.

"We're gonna win this." You say. "You know how I know we're gonna win this? Because I can see the future."

"Huh?" His voice is a croak, eyes red, nose red, as he looks at you like you're crazy.

"I know what's going to happen from here, all the way till this fight is over. And we're going to _win_." _Because you can't lose in fanfiction_. You close your eyes and focus, hands still cradling Kuron's face.

 _Allura's face is contorted in anger and focus as she gets one last look at the living woman who helped ruin her life. Who helped kill her father and destroy a great portion of her race, who_ was _her race. But who knows what she was now? A quaint relic of a born again empire. A traitor and a murderer and one who deserved, at the very least, less than an ounce of pity, because in reality, none of this was her fault either. She was controlled by the immense power of quintessence, and its ludicrous amount of control it had on people, on Zarkon, on_ Lotor _, was something even the paladins, if only for a few seconds, understood. But it didn't excuse what she's done, and she had to pay for it. So Allura activates the ice ray, and in less than a second, Honerva's entire body is frozen in ice._

You open your eyes and look into Kuron's. "Did you see it?" You whisper.

He doesn't answer. "How..?"

You swallow your saliva, take in a deep breath. "Because none of this is real, Kuron. Because this world isn't real, and neither are you."

Again, he doesn't answer. Just regards you with monolid eyes and diamond-shaped pupils. The headache appeared to be gone. "She's in the Gonflubian shop."

You nod. "I need you to get Allura."

He nods back.

 **.**

"First Sendak betrays me, then I lose all my clones, and now _you_." Honerva sighed, stepping closer to Galzack. "So be it. I didn't need those things anymore anyway." She opens her hand so that her palm faces him and it starts to glow. Galzack doesn't wait for her attack. He unsheathed his blade, revealing he's from the Blade of Marmora, and slashes at her hand. She moves back but her palm is still caught, slit through the middle. It's a small cut, but blood rises to the wound quickly. She dodges another attack, teleporting back into the entrance of the shop, where she is suddenly attacked from the back, dodging to the right before she's also caught by Keith's blade.

With a spin, she gets a close look at Keith's scowl before he tries closing in. She's too quick-witted for that, and replaces herself with a illusion before teleporting away. She teleports to the entrance, right in time to see Lance kick lightly at Ezor's corpse. No, wait. No, she realizes, Ezor's breathing. She's unconscious. Lance mutters something before he sees Honerva in the corner of his eye. He points at her, caught off guard, jaw slack, before she's getting shot at by Hunk's cannon. She dodges them again, making more illusions to cover her tracks, but Shiro finds her immediately near the bathrooms, seeing her through his eyes. She puts up a barrier in front of her so that his strike doesn't hit, but it doesn't stop Pidge from tangling her up with her/their bayard's rope. She's stuck for a beautiful moment, before, again, to everyone's annoyance, she teleports again in the very place she encountered Galzack before. The paladins are running towards her, and she sees in the corner of her eye two other bodies on the ground, beaten and bruised, but breathing. Acxa and Zethrid. She deems this mission a fail, and is about to make her escape-

And then the blue lion is right on top of her, right from the hole she blew into the ceiling earlier.

"You need to cool down." Allura says furiously, in a way she knew Lance would be proud. Allura's face is contorted in anger and focus as she gets one last look at the living woman who helped ruin her life. Who helped kill her father and destroy a great portion of her race, who _was_ her race. But who knows what she was now? A quaint relic of a born again empire. A traitor and a murderer and one who deserved, at the very least, less than an ounce of pity, because in reality, none of this was her fault either. She was controlled by the immense power of the quintessence, and its ludicrous amount of control it had on people, on Zarkon, on _Lotor_ , was something even the paladins, if only for a few seconds, understood. But it didn't excuse what she's done, and she had to pay for it. So Allura activates the ice ray, and in less than a second, Honerva's entire body is frozen in ice.


	7. The Beginning Of The End

It's been a few days since the fight and by the end of this week, Galzack will be emperor. It seemed only fitting that the Blade of Marmora would dictate who would become emperor of the Galra empire after all they've done to protect the universe alongside Voltron. The last few days have been taken easy after all that happened the week before. Alteans were transferred to a new planet, Kuron and Shiro got their own bodies, And Voltron, or more specifically, the blue lion, defeated Honerva once and for all. The woman was encased in ice and set underground in the dungeon of the coalition base on Arus and locked in a vault. Ezor, Zethrid, and Acxa were also chained up in a dungeon somewhere on the Olkarian's planet. They'd make sure that the three rebels wouldn't escape.

For now, Allura thought it fitting to visit the Alteans on their new homeplanet. The city was still in its building process, but many homes were already up and shops already running. Stray builders were still around, having made it their duty to not leave the planet for home until the city was fully built. Allura chose to thank them all individually for their work, despite feeling a little upset that they had already built a coalition base on the Planet before they thought to cater to the needs of her own citizens. Allura invited the entire town to live inside the castle-like structure, and while many were glad to take up her offer, there were also many who decided to continue to bunk with the other families. A lot of Alteans, as unpopular a opinion it was, didn't like the fact that they were uprooted from their homes and taken here, basically left to be homeless. It was understandable, you thought, but it was also important to get them out of there. To see the real world and get to know the other species. And also to understand what _really_ happened while they were in their own little universe.

Speaking of own little universes, after the fight with Honerva, you finally told Kuron everything about yourself. About the real world, and that Voltron was not real.

" _What, so you're saying we're just fictional characters in someone's book?"_

" _That's almost exactly what I'm saying. You're a show on Netflix, and I'm reading a fanfiction about you right now. Like, right now."_

" _What? Explain that again?"_

And yeah..he had trouble believing you.

 _No figure_ , you roll your eyes. At the moment you found yourself sitting on the couch in what you guessed was the living room. It looked just like the Castle of Lions. You missed the place, despite the fact that you never set foot in it. It was nothing but a diamond now, and you had no idea what Allura had done with it.

You noticed Lance laying on the couch next to yours, hand holding his head up. He notices you looking at him and asks, "Do you know why Kuron told us to wait in here?"

You shrug, going along with it since you didn't even _know_ Kuron was the reason you were in here. Just as you open your mouth to continue conversation, a door opens across the room, to your left.

Appears a uniquely dressed Kuron, hands on his hips and smile on his face. His white hair is slicked to one side in a military cut and side sweep. His outfit consisted of a grey open front cardigan and a white v neck shirt with a collar that was common amongst the Alteans. His pants were a bit baggy and had grey pockets matching the cardigan, and the bottom of his pants were tucked into white boots with black soles.

With wide eyes and raised eyebrows, you joke, "New body, new you?"

He lets out a breath of laughter. "Sure, let's go with that."

"Wow, Kuron, congrats! You've evolved into a big ball of lint." Lance teased, getting a annoyed look from the old black paladin.

"He seems more like a marshmallow to me." You laugh. "Hey, Baymax, on a scale of one to ten-"

Lance bursts out laughing along with you. Kuron doesn't look the least bit impressed. "Ok, you guys. I get it." You both keep laughing, barely even trying to gain your breath back. Lance laughs so hard he starts coughing. "It wasn't that funny." You both start to calm down, Lance letting out a few more breaths of laughter, then coughs into his hand and finally stops. "...Anyway, I go by Gyro now."

You both burst out laughing again.

"That's not better!" You wheeze, slamming your fist into the couch three times, trying to calm yourself down into a silent laugh. "That's so not better..!"

"Bro, was that your _Monsters and Mana_ name?" Lance exclaims and laughs harder. You join him. "Whew! I needed that. I needed a laugh," Lance breathes minutes later, exhaling in spouts as to gain much needed air and calm his heart down. Kur- Gyro left at some point during the laugh fest. You didn't notice him leave, but it's probably from laughing so much. "You gonna go after him?"

"Nah, he knows I love him." You waved, closing your eyes and grinning lazily as you laid back against the armrest of the couch. "It's just a friendly joke. He'll be fine."

"He's gonna tell Space Dad on us."

"He's gonna ground us. Make us do our homework," You and Lance snickered.

"Hey, you wanna go to the training room and check it out?" Lance asked. "I think I could show you a few things."

You look at him with a wrinkled nose.

He laughs softly, moving his head back and baring his long olive neck. "Ew, dude, no! Not like that.."

"Yeah, sure." You agree, finally knocking off the jokes and forcing yourself up off the enticing couch.

 **.**

The castle has many floors. So many that even Coran has a hard time remembering which floor belongs to what. There's the training deck, and the living room/ entertainment floor. There's a few floors for bedrooms so large they could be entire houses, which was home to many Alteans for the time being, as well as the furthest bedroom floor upstairs that belonged to the Paladins and Coran and you, which also specifically had a slide in five of the rooms belonging to the paladins leading to the hangar where the lions were held, in case of a emergency. There was even a room for Kaltenecker, but Keith's wolf liked to stay with him. There was also a conference floor for meetings between the different coalition groups. The only intermissions that came in so far were from the Blade of Marmora, updating on who was going to the Kral Zera, and, for Keith, what missions Krolia was being sent on.

Krolia arrived at the base this morning and has since started training again with Keith, even going so far as to drag Hunk and Shiro into it, since they were the only ones around at the time. She specifically wanted to train with Shiro, who she said had gotten _weak and unaccustomed to fighting_ because of his new body. You begged to differ, having seen him fight only a few days earlier, but you guessed that he only looked like he was fighting well because of the fact that the Honerva's he fought were only illusions. You were able to sneak out of there before she could grab you too. That was hours ago.

Keith walks out of the training room just as you and Lance turn the corner to walk in. He gave you a courtesy smile as you passed each other, but before you could return the expression he had already looked away. Instead, you turned your attention to the sliding doors and Lance walking into the purely white and blue room. You could barely see yourself, the room seemed so bright.

After the last chapter, your appearance reset to a silhouette of light again. You had no doubt that you could change your appearance again if you wanted to, but then it would cause too many setbacks. Whatever the others were seeing when they looked at you would change if you shapeshifted, and that would raise too many questions. Also, you would never be able to decide on one look, being the agglomeration of people that you are. Skin tone, hair color, hair length- you'd never decide on _anything_. So no, there's no reason to change unless you absolutely have to. Let yourself look like whatever the paladins think you look like.

In the middle of the room, a altar rose from the ground with various weapons on top of it, the many different types of swords and their blades sticking out of one side of the desk and guns and medieval type weapons lay on their sides on the other side.

Lance gestures to them, bayard forming a sword in his other hand. "Pick one."

 **.**

Keith finds Shiro in Pidge's room along with Gyro. He comes in to find Gyro shirtless with his shoulder in flashing red and white sparks as Pidge slowly and carefully separates the metal from the flesh with a small laser. The smell of burning flesh fills the room and a door into the balcony is open. On the ground next to them is a new arm, shining and a twin to Shiro's, who was sitting against the wall not too far from them, clenching and releasing his own metal hand.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked, shutting the door behind him and clenching his nose shut between his thumb and forefinger.

"I'm working on replacing Gyro's broken arm with a new one." Pidge said over the zapping of the laser.

"Gyro?"

"Yeah. Kuron wasn't fitting me too well," Gyro replied, biting his lip as Pidge accidentally moved the laser directly onto his skin, burning him. They/She mumbled a sorry.

"And Gyro's better?"

"Shut up, Keith." Both Pidge and Shiro retort without looking up. Unfazed by his friend's chastising, he moved to the side of the room Shiro was sitting on and slid down beside him.

"You ok?" He lowers his voice, glancing at the others. They weren't paying him any attention.

Shiro's voice lowered to a utter. "Better than I've felt in a long, _long_ time." He says, laying his arm over his bent knee. "Guess we were wrong about Raider, huh?"

"He's… They're different than I expected, honestly." Keith admits, sighing. "They're a good person. I shouldn't have doubted them."

Shiro nods. "But, there _are_ some things about Raider that are pretty questionable."

Keith looks at him, surprised. "You noticed too? The shapeshifting?"

He nods again. "And they can see the future too. Or at the very least, predict it." Shiro met his eyes. "They know how to fight, too."

"I taught them how to steer the black lion-"

"No, not that. With weapons..and hand to hand combat."

"You mean when they punched you and ran?" Keith smirked.

Shiro gave him an annoyed look. "They punch hard, alright?" He sighed, setting his eyes on his twin as Pidge finished taking the leftovers of his fake arm off. "They've helped us a lot…but I'm wondering who they really are too.."

Keith thought for a second. "Do you think they're an alien and don't know it?"

I don't know. Could be. It's possible." Shiro said, "Either way, I don't think they mean any harm."

"...So should we take them to Earth?"

"Of course. Where else will they go?"

"Couldn't we help them find their home?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We don't even know if they're an alien or not. They think they're from Earth. Let then keep believing."

 **.**

You check up on Gyro after he finally finishes getting his new arm attached. When you enter the room, all you see is him and Pidge sitting on the floor and talking. His prosthetic looks just like Shiro's. You have a faint memory of seeing Pidge collect it from one of the clones before you blew up the Galra base.

"Hey, your arm!" You said.

"Yeah," Gyro smiled genuinely. "Pidge did a great job, huh?"

The green paladin grinned and made a flattered motion with their/her hand. "Yeah, I did. It took, what? A hour and a half?"

"Just about, yeah." He said. You went to sit down beside them as Pidge cleaned up materials strayed around the floor. The skin on Gyro's shoulder connected to the metal was a ferocious red.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes," he admitted, not downplaying it at all. "Yes. A lot."

"Felt worse?"

"Felt worse."

"You're doing great." You turn to Pidge and start helping them/her pick up their/her stuff.

After a few minutes of silence, conversation picks up again.

"Nice to have another nonbinary pal with me." Pidge commented, sighing after everything was finally in its place and laying down, resting. You joined them/her, laying on your back between Pidge and Gyro, who chose to sit up with his legs crossed.

"Oh..yeah.." You kinda forgot that the paladins thought you were nonbinary, though, it would make more sense to say you were genderfluid? Your character is? Raider is? Whatever. You readers weren't all trans, and if you could have actually pretended to look like yourself and choose your individual character's name with those y/n boxes then that would've been great, but you got this far, what use was it turning back?

 _And according to the title of this chapter, this fic is about to end._

 _The last season comes out next week, December 14th, right? It's the end of everything._

 _Gosh, that hurts.. I don't want it to end!_

 _There's still comics, I think._

 _They aren't the same!_

 _I didn't start watching the show til it was long over._

You look at Gyro, who has since put back on the tunic and cardigan-like layer of clothing that you had joked on earlier.

 _If given the chance, I wouldn't have joked on him._

 _Then go for it._

"You look cute." You compliment.

Gyro makes a face, like he can't tell whether you're joking or not. "Are you sure about that? You didn't seem to think so earlier."

"I did, but making fun of people is funnier. Also, you're always a cutie so.."

The corners of his lips turn up in a smile.

 _I can't believe we told him who we are._

 _We're like a hivemind. Has anyone watched Rick and Morty?_

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter anyway." He looks down at his new arm, traces his finger over the grooves of his mechanical hand. "Nothing matters, according to you, anyway."

"That was _not_ what I said." You defend. _Did I? Did anyone say that?_

 _Not me._

 _Not me._

"What are you filling his head with?" Pidge asked from behind you. You turn around to defend yourself.

"Nothing! Just contemplating that reality is a illusion."

The universe is a hologram, _Buy gold!_

 _We're living in a simulation._

 _Haha...ha..ha…_

"Well, we did go to another dimension where Shiro was Nordic and called himself Sven." Pidge mentioned.

"No way," you laugh as Gyro stares, wide-eyed.

 **.**

Keith found himself staring at the ceiling, going over what Shiro said earlier. _Taking them to Earth seemed the most rational, but if we were to control the fate of the universe and protect the aliens from corruption by the Galra empire, there would be no reason that aliens would come to Earth anyway_. But were you a alien? Would it be best to bring you with them as a part of the team? Maybe you could join Matt's team, or bunk with Rolo and Nyma?

A knock. "Keith?"

He touched along the scar on his cheek as he told her to come in. A flash of light from the open door slid across the floor as Krolia came in, then quickly disappeared as she shut it behind herself and sat on the edge of her son's bed. "Tired? Don't tell me you're going soft on me?"

He gave her a small smile for a second before relaxing back into a frown. "No, it's not the training. _That_ I can handle. It's Raider."

Her purple fingers carted through his long and messy black hair. "A peculiar one, aren't they?"

"Very peculiar." He agreed. "Hey, do you know a race that can shape shift and prophecies?"

"Well, the Alteans can mildly change their forms. And there's the Puigians who have slight prophetic powers. I believe they have short visions when they dream. The Mu race live for one hundred thousand years before they become a gas. And then there's Slav," Keith snorts at the mention of the alien's name. "But no, there aren't any races I know that can shape shift and tell the future, why?"

"Raider. I don't think they're human."

"Oh, well I could tell that."

Keith sits up, ignoring the hand slipping out of his hair. "What?"

"They were able to breathe in space with a crashed spaceship. It was obvious they weren't completely human. I thought everyone knew-" Whatever she had left to say was interrupted by a loud "What!" coming from the room beside them.

Keith was going to ignore it for childish play when the exclamation turned into the muffled sound of multiple people arguing, and both him and his mother rushed out of the bedroom, into the living area, and out into the hallway where Lance was standing next to the door of Pidge's room, his head against the door, trying to listen in. Seeing he was caught, he smiled sheepishly and moved over as the annoyingly taller (by practically one inch!) Half-galra went to open the door.

Pidge's gadget clacked as it hit the floor. "You think we should do _what?_ " Pidge asks, incredulous. Shiro, who's standing beside the green paladin, looks just as unbelieving, and Gyro looks blatantly uncomfortable where he's standing against the far wall.

The three walk into the room as you calmly reply, "Bring Lotor back."

Lance and Keith visibly tense up. Krolia doesn't react as much, aside from downward eyebrows and a suddenly intense stare.

"What?" Everyone turns around to face the Princess of Altea, who was standing in the doorway in her royal clothes, wearing a taut look on her face. "You don't even know Lotor!" She walks in briskly, hands clenched into fists by her side.

Lance thinks about stopping her and calming her down, but decides not to. Instead, he agrees. "Yeah, that's too much of a radical idea…" He crosses his arms and meets your gaze with a furtive look.

 _How the hell did we get here?_

"I heard from Romelle and Gyro what happened, and I don't think it's fair." You lie.

"Not fair?" Allura's voice rose. "What's _not fair_ is that he killed thousands of Alteans. _Innocent_ Alteans _,_ " She stepped passed Pidge, up to you. "for his own gain."

"His own gain? He was trying to save them!" You defend. "Yeah, he messed up big time, but it seems to me the only thing he did wrong was not tell them _what_ he was going to do. They sacrificed themselves of their own accord- for the new colony! Even though he didn't tell them what exactly they were in for, they still decided to go, _without asking,_ I may add, and all for the same reason- to create a better future for thousands- millions!" You look at Lance for some kind of support but he turns away.

"Even if it was so," Allura says with a low voice, calming herself down. "there's no way we can save him now. He's gone. There's no way back into the quintessence field and if there was, he's probably already lost his mind. We wouldn't be able to find him anyway."

You feel a hand on your shoulder, stopping you from retaliating with ideas. Gyro looks down at you and shakes his head.

"Fine!" You relent. "Fine." And then you stalk off. Gyro gives everyone a doleful look before following after you.

"That's one weird girl- uh!" Hunk's eyes widen and he straightens his back as Pidge elbows him. "I mean nonbinary person!" He snuck his way in to see what the commotion was halfway through the argument and asked Pidge what was happening while Allura was arguing with you. "Well, that was quick."

The lights in the room start to blink a scarlet color wildly overhead as a alarm blares.

"What? What's that?" Pidge looked up at the flashing lights.

"Is someone attacking us?" Hunk asked, bracing for some type of ripple under his feet. If it wasn't a attack, then what else? Was a earthquake starting? A tornado? Was this planet known for having natural disasters? Were they actually being attacked by Galra agents?

He turns to Allura to see that her eyes are focused on the door to Pidge's sleeping quarters. "No, that's the lions alarms. Someone's in the lions holds!"


	8. The End of the End

You ducked out of the room and sprinted towards the door to the next one with Gyro right at your heels, asking you where you were going. You ignored him, turning the knob one door down from Pidge's room and entering into Keith's living area. With a one track mind, you didn't bother glancing at the sleeping wolf and made your way into Keith's bedroom and opened a slot on the other side of the wall.

"Reed, what are you doing?" Gyro's voice sounded stony and became a echo as you opened the slot and sat down on the edge, before sliding down into the black lion's holding bay. Gyro was right behind you as you jumped up and glared into the eyes of the lion. "Reed!"

Red lights start to go off around the large holding bay, as well as a loud ringing sound. The paladins would be here any minute.

"This will be the last thing I ever ask of you, Gyro." You say, turning around to look at him. You suddenly wish you hadn't. The pure uncertainty and concern on his red-splashed face was enough to make you feel bad, but you had to ignore it. "I need you to open her up," you point at the lion, "and take us back to the place you last fought Lotor."

He doesn't hesitate to ask, "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Yeah, Gyro. I can't let Lotor sit in there any longer."

"But the guys-" Gyro stops himself and doesn't continue, gazing into your eyes with his slim ones.

You'll miss them.

They never should've fought him in the first place. Never should have let it all go so far. There was no way someone's OC Blade of Marmora character would make it as emperor. There's no way _anything_ in this fanfic could have worked in show. Not Sendak, not Honerva, not even the freaking _Kuron_ scenes would ever come to life.

But we all had headcanons, didn't we?

So your last job...the last chapter, will be dedicated to the injustice of Lotor. The last plot hole we can try to cover up before this Friday.

 _Or the Friday that Voltron season 8 came out, to the future readers._

"You had a connection with the black lion once. Maybe you can do it again." You say finally.

"That was because of Shiro, though. _He_ let me in." Gyro crossed his arms.

"You _are_ Shiro, Gyro. Or just every amount as good. You can do this."

He breathes in deeply, silent for a few seconds. In the back of your head, the thought presses that the paladins could appear any second. Finally, Gyro looks at you with determined eyes.

 **.**

"I knew it! I knew something was up!" Hunk says as he and the paladins ran down the long corridor, air splashing against their face as they hurried to the elevator. After quickly realizing that none of the entrances to the slides leading down to the hull were opening, they came to a quick conclusion that Raider had sabotaged them and had planned to steal a lion for however long now. That _, or the architects here_ suck _,_ Hunk had said.

"Shut up, Hunk!" Pidge screams with eyebrows furrowing in anger, hands bundled into fists.

"I didn't want to believe it either." Keith says from beside them.

"I can't believe they tricked me! They let me braid their hair and everything!" Lance pouts. "We were brunet buddies.."

Keith furrowed his eyebrows as Pidge put in, "Their hair isn't even long enough to braid."

"How do you know? They're always wearing a hijab!" Hunk says, and is confused when everyone comes to a stop and looks at him like he has two heads.

"Is it just me, or are we talking about completely different people?" Lance locked eyes with Allura and then Hunk.

"I don't know about you guys, but Reed looks very feminine to me." Hunk said furrowing his eyebrows.

"What? Reed looks about as masculine as me. They're my height!" Lance said.

"Raider's hair is almost as low cut as Shiro's, and they're pretty androgynous to me." Pidge cut in.

They stood in silence for a few seconds as they came to a realization. Allura balled her hands into fists, tightening her lips. Shiro could barely believe it. Had Reed been tricking them all this time? Does this mean they were right to be suspicious of them?

Lance groans. "I bet Reed isn't even their real name!.. Wait."

Amidst the sudden apprehension of everyone, Keith stepped forward. "We don't have time for this! We have to get to our lions." Keith takes on the leadership role, despite how much he feels like punching something, particularly himself.

The paladins nod, ignoring the disheartening feeling rising in their chest to go find you. When they finally reach the hull, the black lion is gone. There's a wide empty space where the lion once was and the back entrance out onto the cliff was open. A breeze blew in from the large entrance, but instead of the fresh breath of air calming them down, it stirred them up even more.

"I'll contact the Blade." Krolia says as she begins to head back inside.

Keith stops her. "No. They're already busy preparing for the Kral Zera. This was our fault. We'll handle this."

"Uh, I beg to differ. _I_ had no part in this." Hunk put up a finger as if to make a point while he walked to the yellow lion.

Lance kept his head low as he retaliated with a disapproving voice, "Hunk."

"What? It's not our fault we were tricked. Again. A second time. A third time?"

Lance ignored him, turning to Shiro and Keith as the blue lion opened her jaws to him. "Come on, you can ride ride with me." They accepted, piling into the red lion and seeing a screen pop up on the side of the lion's eyes. A red dot was moving farther and farther from the group of red dots the paladins knew were them. "The red lion is faster so we'll head on first."

"We'll catch up with you." Allura agreed, and then they were off.

 **.**

"This is it." Gyro said looking out into the deep mass of space. Nothingness. Nakedness. Only stars and vacant black were in this part of the universe. Even the blues and purples were gone. You were floating in a pure empty abyss. "This is all there is. Nothing's left, it all got sucked into the quintessence field."

"So how are we gonna get in?" You mumbled, leaning over his seat. After all this time, you realize you never really got to fly any of the lions.

"We need Voltron." He said. You both sighed.

Thinking about how you really didn't feel like waiting for the others to catch up, a few of you said, "Fuck this," and as if a bubble burst, a voice could be heard over the comlink along with the roar of a lion.

"What- What did you just-?" Gyro looked around in confusion, as if he was in a place he didn't know. You could only raise your eyebrows and shrug lazily, all cool like.

"Time skip."

He looked at you crazily for a solid second. "Is that another one of your fanfic things?" You nod. He turns back to the view of nothing, eyes wide and lips parted. "Reality really _is_ a illusion... We're all fake, huh..?"

"I mean I could just be trolling you right now." You say.

"Raider!" Lance is screaming.

"Nothing is real…none of this really matters," Shiro's voice is distant, void as the plains of space. For a second you thought it was actually Shiro, but Gyro has this sparkling wonder in his eye that tells you immediately who it came from, as well as the fact that he was right beside you.

"Nah, don't think like that. You guys matter a lot to me, otherwise I wouldn't have come here." You look over your shoulder, as if you're gonna see them right there. Then you turn back around, place your hand over Gyro's, and slowly turn the black lion around to face Red.

"Raider!" This time it's Keith. "We don't want to fight you. Give us back the black lion."

"We trusted you, Reed!" Lance's heartbroken voice quickly switches to annoyance. His voice cracks as he shouts, "What the heck!"

"You won't get into anymore trouble if you just hand Black over. We can _help_ you." Keith assures calmly.

"Is Reed even your real name?" Lance asks, not so calm. "Have you been lying to us this whole time? I thought we were friends!"

"Lance, Keith, stop!" And this time it is Shiro, and using your vision, you can see into the red lion and see the hurt look on Lance's face, the loss on Keith's, and the irritation on Shiro's, before he's focusing on the window of the red lion's eyes. It's like he's looking right at you. "Gyro."

Gyro's shoulder tenses up under your hand. You look down at him and his face has drained to completely white, aside from the scar over his nose.

"Gyro," he says again. "Gyro, you're there right? You _don't have to do this_." Gyro's hand tightens on the steer and his arm is starting to shake. His flesh arm. "You don't have to follow everything they say. You're your own person." He looks up at you, a sweat dripping down his forehead. You nod in agreement and squeeze his shoulder in reassurance. His hand loosens on the steer and he lets his arm fall into his lap. His shaking stops before it can even really begin. "Make your own decisions." A pause. "Likewise, if you think this is the right thing to do," A vision- Keith and Lance are both staring at Shiro with disbelief. "Then I won't stop you. I trust your judgement. I _know_ you aren't a bad guy."

"Are you sure about this?" Keith asked Shiro. He nodded.

Gyro wants to say something, you can tell. But nothing is coming out of his parted lips. Lines are under his sparkling diamond eyes and his scar stands out over his white face and hair. He wants to say something _so bad_ , but he can't find the words, so you try and say it for him. "If Gyro doesn't want to save Lotor, then neither do I."

 _No, but I really do!_

 _Shut up!_

 _For the love of God, please let's just save Lotor. We did_ not _come all this way for nothing._

 _Not everyone can be saved. Also he's not worth it._

 _You take that back!_

"I do." Gyro finally says, breaking you out of your thoughts. "I do want to help them. Reed may be the reason I have my own body, but they aren't the reason I'm here." _Yes, baby!_

 _That's my son!_

 _There is not enough love in my heart for this guy._

 _M._

 _Eh. He's ok._

 _Tsundere much?_

"If there's a way I can save Lotor like Raider saved me, then I want to make it happen. Not because they want me to, but because _I_ want to."

 _Best bro. Best boi._

 _Ok, I guess he's pretty cool._

 _We stan a clone king!_

 _We stan a Space Mom!_

There's a brief moment of silence, and you guess the paladins are thinking of how to proceed. Gyro mutters over to you, so only you can hear. "Raider, do you know how this story ends?"

"Not really. I haven't read ahead." You reply, possibly lying. This could be the third time you've read this chapter, but it always feels like the first. Maybe. You don't know.

"Keep it that way."

 _That's my Space Mom_! "Yes ma'am!" You salute. He gives you a weird look paired with a small smile.

"Ok, well you make a good point," Lance starts up again. "but Lotor's _evil_."

"You guys thought I was evil too, before I separated from Shiro."

"That's different!"

"How is that different?" Gyro retorts, temper starting to rise.

"Because _you_ didn't kill millions of people!" Lance persists, to which Keith puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"It was _not_ _millions_ of people!" You defend. "Don't over exaggerate!"

"It's Lance. He never passes up the chance to be dramatic." Gyro contributed, to which Keith covers his mouth to stop himself from laughing and Shiro barks out a laugh. Lance sends them a quick glare before turning back to you.

"..Give 'em the ol' razzle dazzle." Keith silently mocked, but it wasn't silent enough, apparently, if you were able to hear it over the com.

"Was that a _joke?"_ You humorously widened your eyes and put a hand over your heart, despite the fact that they couldn't see it.

Keith was done with jokes. Why did he even feel the need to joke around, anyway? What was it about you that made everyone laugh? "Whatever, can I get my lion back?" He crossed his arms, starting to get impatient. "Also, Raider, I don't think you understand how tall an order you're asking of us. We don't even know _how_ exactly we got into the quintessence field, we needed Allura to guide us, and even then, why risk another black hole sucking up the entire universe over one guy you don't even know?"

A thought came to you at the same time. "What if I could close it afterwards?"

"You can't do that." Keith, Lance, and Gyro said in unison.

"Ah, ah, I can! It's called God-modding." You put your hands on your hips and straightened your back, proudly. _Oh my fucking gosh_ , someone wanted to slap their own forehead.

 _Author, can we do that?_

 **Nah, you can't do that.**

 _Shit_!

Gyro was looking at you with confusion. Your smile becomes awkward and you could figuratively feel a sweat go down your back. "Ok, scrap that. But what I _can_ do...is...uh...what I can do is…" you thought for a moment.

A little bit more than a moment.

...Way longer than a moment should take.

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. "Well?"

"Hold on, I'm thinking!" You squinted at your phone screen, computer screen, tablet, whatever the crap you were using. _Holy crap nuggets, what do I do? Holy heck is this what writer's block is like? What,_ _ **what**_ _,_ what _, what?_

" _Seriously?"_ Keith took a deep breath.

While you're thinking, the green lion comes in behind Red, followed closely by the yellow and blue lions. "What are you guys doing? Get them!" Pidge, sweet, baby, Pidge, number five, nonbinary or female icon? Who knows? It's Pidge! Everyone's favorite! Well, almost everyone, and she/they comes in screaming, ready for a fight.

Allura, the princess, the beauty, the original Space Mom, is right behind her, nothing but worry in her voice as she says, "Raider! Don't do it!"

Lance once again takes it upon himself to defend you. "Calm down! Nothing's happened yet."

"Huh? What do you- what?" Hunk stuttered, confused. "What do you mean nothing's happened yet?"

 _Oh fudge I think we're gonna have to tell them._

 _We're gonna have to tell them?_

 _We're gonna have to tell them._

Keith sighs. "Ok, Raider. What's going on? Who _are_ you? _What_ are you?"

"Ehhh," You suck in air through your teeth. You're gonna have to do it, you decide. "Ok, so, uh," You click your teeth. "You guys, I'mma need y'all to come here."

"Huh?" Hunk makes a sound. Gyro is seriously considering leaving your side.

"Yeah, come on over, I gotta show you guys something." You wave your hand towards you as if they could see it. You tell Gyro to open the maw and he does, though he has no idea what you're doing.

As soon as the Allura saw you at the end of the corridor towards the eyes of the lion, she rushed you. The weight of her body knocked the breath out of you and the ground greeted your head with a hard **thunk**. Your wrists were in a tight grip and you thought about how sad it was that she couldn't even _hurt_ you while she held you down. You just knew you couldn't move.

"Can we just go back to making jokes? That was fun." _Oh my gosh, self, is_ now _the time?_

"Start talking!" She demanded, high-pitched and piercing.

"Allura, what are you doing?" You hear Keith exclaim as many footsteps got closer.

"Is this what you did to Lotor?" You ask, rhetorically.

 _Can't this be like Steven universe where we don't_ actually fight any _of our foes and instead befriend legitimately all of them?_

 _Hasn't that been what we've been doing this whole time?_

"Explain yourself! Who are you?" She continues. Her weight is on your back, you guess, because you can't seem to turn around at all. She's _really_ strong. You see at the top of your eye Gyro starting to come towards you and you stop him with a somewhat raised hand.

"Let me do this." You say. You relax underneath Allura, who gives no sign of letting up her grip. "My name is Reader. At least, collectively, our name is Reader."

"What? What do you mean collectively?" She asks, twisting your arm even more. You were glad you weren't able to feel it.

"Reed, are you sure?" Gyro asked, still ready to help you out of Allura's grasp if you needed it.

"I'm sure," you give up on trying to nod at him and continue on trying to tell your story as plainly and in context as you could. "I'm not real…. Well, you're not real. I'm the real one."

"...Quiznack, are you telling me they were crazy this whole time?" You hear Hunk mourn.

"No, like, for real. Allura can you let me up real quick?" You ask, starting to feel mentally uncomfortable in this prostrate position. She lifts up just a bit, loosens her grip, but doesn't get off or let go of you.

"You can explain from right here." She says in a stoic voice.

"Alright Kimberly Brooks." You roll your eyes, some of you. "I'm reading a book right now based on you guys and I can travel back in time using it." You explain. Another few moments of silence and then you hear the clacking of someone's shoes coming closer. Lance is looming over you and Allura, you see since you can finally turn your head, and his hand is on her shoulder. She lifts up and off you after his silent plea and you sit up on your rear end, rubbing your wrist like they do on TV. You start to explain a bit more, gauging their reactions. "It's like a reverse hive mind. All of the people reading this book right now are stuck in one body and whatever we feel like doing the most is what ends up happening. Some of the time, like when we punched Shiro and kinda kidnapped him," you whisper the last part. "One of us thought for whatever reason that the best choice was to hit him. Or, well," the person, or people, come in to defend themselves. "If our emotions get too...hard to control, it can affect what we do next too. Which was more how we felt at that time then..what I- _we_ previously said."

They look at you with mixed emotions, but mostly like they want to find you a nice safe home to spend the rest of your life in a straight jacket.

"So you know exactly what we're going to do?" You read the line aloud just as Hunk says it. "How did you do that?" He's starting to freak out.

"Stop that!" You read but don't say.

"To answer your question, I can tell you what you're about to say exactly as you say it, because I'm reading it at the same time." You reply.

"So it's like a history book?" Lance and you say. His face screws up as you laugh.

"Yes, Lance, like a history book." You say, then turn to Allura. "Why should we believe you?" You say at the same time she does. "Do I need to prove it any more than this? Shiro," You turn to him and he meets your gaze, mind swarming with thoughts. "Before the mission to the other planet, I can never remember the name-" But someone can, "- The Kerberos mission! Yeah, that. Adam, that person, that person you know that I'm not gonna say aloud because possibly spoilers, separated from you right before it- that- the _Kerberos mission_ , I know English." You correct yourself, stuttering with the amount of things going on in your many minds at the same time.

He's too shocked to say anything, His mouth agape. You move onto Keith.

"You two met when you were a child and you stole his car, you little rebel you," and then Pidge. "Actually all I know is that you had this secret code thing with your brother that helped you find him when you were at that gravesite place-?"

Pidge pulls out their/her bayard. "How could you have _possibly_ known that?"

"Whoa," Lance and Shiro get in front of her/them. Your eyes widen for a moment, mildly surprised, before Gyro steps beside you in defense.

"They could _not_ have known that from a book!" The green paladin scowls, thick hair bouncing as they/she struggled to get passed Shiro and get a good look at you.

"It got made into a movie!" You lie, then take it back. "Into a show. A documentary?"

"So you're saying you're from the future?" Allura elaborates.

You sigh. "Sure, let's go with that." Gyro has a hand held out for you and you accept it, grabbing onto his arm and pulling yourself up. "And Allura, I'm telling you now, Galzack is _not_ going to work out as a good leader. I _know_ Lotor betrayed you, but he doesn't deserve this. The future becomes awful without him as leader." _We'll know when season 8 comes out._

And she thinks about it. She really thinks about it. You can see it on her face.

 _Please Steven universe, please bestow your luck on us,_ please _!_

 _Let's go the pacifist route on this one Frisk, we need your blessings!_

And everything's up to Allura. The others will follow her anywhere, obey her any command. Not because she's their princess, but because she's their most loyal ally, the real leader, the entire reason they've gotten so far, their original Space Mom. Whatever she says, they trust, and they'll go for it with all they have. Keith would take her and Shiro's word over anyone else's, and Shiro had chosen to follow Gyro. Lance would do anything for Allura, even if that meant his worst enemy and rival in love would have to resurface again. And Pidge and Hunk? Well, they didn't want the universe to go to shit because of Galzack, so Lotor it is. He helped Pidge get Matt back, so he couldn't have been _all_ that bad.

They really were influenced by your very being, weren't they? When you laughed, they laughed, and when _you_ wanted someone safe and cared for, then _they_ wanted someone safe and cared for.

 _The author must really,_ really, _be bullshitting/crapping again._ You smile to yourself.

Allura seems to come to a conclusion, minutes later. Her eyes are fierce, and her voice is calculated, carefully firm. "If it weren't for Lotor..there wouldn't be any Alteans left in the first place. And, as much as I hate to admit it, he _was_ the only reason I was able to reach Orion and discover all the information my father left behind." A beat passes. "If we can find Lotor, and if he is still alive, then he will be under _your_ care, Reader." She said. "You will be the one to get him ready in time for the Kral Zera, on the slim chance he is not completely insane, and then you will promise to no longer interfere with our lives.. and go back to where you came from."

The others gasped at that, but you nodded understandably.

 _But I don't wanna go though?_

 _Too bad. Story's over._

 _I enjoyed the ride a lot._

 _It's not done yet.._

"You can't mean that," Lance said, but the look on Allura's face said she did.

"I agree to the terms." I forced you to say.

 _No nononono I don't want to!_

 _Time to go._

 _I don't agree!_

 _I have things to do, you guys. Different fanfics to read._

"Then everyone," she met eyes with Gyro, who you forgot was standing right beside you. "To your lions."

"Oh my gosh, another life-threatening trip," Hunk turned around and started for his lion, resignation in his voice.

"Well, at least we don't have to risk Lotor's version of Voltron poking holes in the universe this time." Pidge said as they/she walked with him.

Lance and Shiro gave you one last look before leaving too. To your surprise, Keith gave you a smile before he walked passed you and Gyro, heading for the cockpit.

 _Huh,_ you grinned. _Guess we finally rubbed off on him._

 _In the final chapter no less._

 _I don't know, he seemed fonder of us in chapter 1, didn't he?_

 _The dude really just wanted his lion back._

"Don't worry. The black lion missed you very much." You jested.

"Yeah, you're never getting the chance to drive the black lion ever again." He said as he went inside. You and Gyro followed him.

"If you go, then where do I..?" Gyro asked you in a low tone after closing the door behind him.

You had no idea _._ "You'll live your life, Gyro. As your own person. Or marshmallow." You once again critique his choice of clothing. _Wait, was that an Adventure Time reference? So many references today.._

"Seriously, what's wrong with my outfit?"

"Nothing, dude. You look great."

"Form Voltron!" You hear Keith say, with no regard to your conversation.

 **.**

Allura gets everyone to focus, even you and Gyro, and and you're both forced to hold onto Keith's shoulder as the process moves on. A white beam of light appears some distance away in the space, and at once, Allura forms sword and races for it, sword pointed forward and tip shining chivalrously.

And then you're in. You expect a blinding white light, but there's mostly navy blue space with clouds of white, like a Earth sky. You may have noticed it in season six's seventh episode, but there was some vacant space inside the quintessence field, and as that fight had gone on, the vacancy became even more apparent. There was more blue rivaling the white. Now you were sure that the quintessence was running out, yet no one else noticed.

Hunk shivered. "Oh, I hate this place."

"Let's get out of here quickly." Keith said and moved Voltron forward.

"Reed," It was Shiro. "can you see where he is? Using your prophetic powers?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I can try." And so you did. You closed your eyes and let your visions come through. Rather than a vision, though, it was intuition. A pull on your heart, saying which way to go. "Straight ahead," You said. "A little to the left. Take it back now ya'll," Hunk groans and then you instruct, "Go a little faster, _if you know what I mean."_ You added, unable to help yourself. A applause of groans and _oh my gosh_ went around.

"Hey, I think I see him!" Hunk suddenly shouted half a minute later.

"You do? Where?" Keith asked, eyes searching the sea of quintessence right before he landed on the figure. You opened your eyes and there he was. The anti-voltron mecha.

They flew in closer so that they were right on top of it. It was completely still, floating through the space. No sparks, no sign of life aside from what Hunk picked up on his radar.

"Well I'm not going in there." Lance made sure to say.

Keith rolled his eyes. "No one's going outside Voltron. We're just going to pick him up and make our way back out of here."

Large metal hands grabbed onto a dead robot body, and, in only a few seconds, flew right out of a new portal out into the darkness of space.

 **.**

Coran is the first to greet you guys when you land on Arus. Allura told him to go back and meet them there so that she could explain everything. She didn't want Lotor anywhere near the Alteans, even when he was unconscious. Pidge said it was like he was in some kind of coma. They needed to get him into a healing pod fast.

 _The only thing keeping him alive was the quintessence field. It must've flooded his entire system,_ Hunk said. Allura refused to see him, and Gyro seemed like he couldn't even physically look at him, despite how much he had wanted to help earlier. You didn't blame him, and chose to use your shape-shifting powers just this once.

You were about as tall as Shiro, and your skin was deathly pale with long, slick, black hair flowing straight down your back. Your jaw was strong and your eyes were upturned, but no one could tell what color they were. Keith said you looked like that all the time to him.

Coran was running toward you once you all left your lions. "Where'd you guys run off tooo- aahh what are you doing here? Alive?"

"He's in a coma, Coran. He can't hear you." You say, adjusting Lotor in your arms as you walk passed the older man to go to the healing room whatever-it-was.

"Who's that?" He asks behind you, talking to the paladins.

"There's a lot of things I need to explain to you," Allura said, right before you blinked.

 **.**

After what little the mechanical healing could do for Lotor, it was then Allura's turn to cleanse as much of his mind as she could. It took a day, but with the Kral Zera coming in fast, they needed to do all they could. Allura understood that, and so she gathered her courage and looked Lotor in his unconscious face. White steaks trailed down his sunken in cheeks, just like his mother, but other than that, there didn't seem to be much difference. He looked calm, like he was resting in his coffin.

Wouldn't that have been something? She laughed bitterly at the thought. Going through all the trouble to get his body, just to put him to rest? Just to have a funeral? Ha, wasn't the thought twisted?

She laid the man out on a bed and placed her hands on his temples, and started her hard long hours on working him sane and awake.

 **.**

When he woke up for the first time hours later, Allura had rushed out of the door before he could get even the slightest glimpse at her. Coran was the one to face him first, with Allura and Gyro outside the door, supporting one another as they listened in.

"I'm..still alive? How did I get here?"

"Yes, I'm quite disappointed too. You've gotten quite uglier since the last time I saw you." Coran kept his expression plain with one raised eyebrow, having felt the need to protect Princess Allura the way a father would, by threatening and humiliating any of the boys that had their eyes on her or broke her heart. He had no pity for the half Altean in front of him, even if you did.

"Nice to see you too, Coran."

It's a Christmas miracle that Lotor comes out alright. He has these twitches he can't fix, and he tenses up whenever someone comes near him. He doesn't like being touched, and some types of light seem to hurt him. His eyes, though..his eyes seem to have stayed the same. They glow a bit whiter, a paler yellow than before, but otherwise haven't changed at all.

Allura can't look at them. The first thing Lotor asked for was to speak to Allura, but he was told no. Every paladin he met again over the next few days were persistent in not letting the two meet, and Allura was serious in avoiding him. Until the day of the Kral Zera.

It was that morning when you were sent to wake him up in his own specialized jail cell, like the one he was put in during season 5. He accepted his confines like he felt he deserved it. He was passive at all times, even when the paladins showed blatant contempt for him to his face. It's like nothing bothered him, like he didn't _feel_ anything. The first time you finally met him, he was standing on the balcony of his room, the first day he woke up, and his hair moved with the wind. He wouldn't turn around to look at you for most of the visit.

 _Coran told me_ you _were the one to take me out of the quintessence field._

 _You gulped and made a sound of agreement._

" _Why?"_

 _You didn't answer for a few seconds, debating on what to say._ Indecisive till the end _, you thought. "I believe everyone deserves a second chance. Despite how cliche it sounds."_ And also you were super freaking cool! _You don't say._

 _He was silent for a long moment, before saying, "You should have let me die…"_

 _And when he looked at you, his eyes were glowing pure white._

But that's a story for another time.

 _You bastard_ , someone thinks.

 _You sneaky little author you. Setting us up for a sequel, eh?_

Lotor got up from his bed, got cleaned up, dressed, and then was lead by you to the dungeon underneath the castle, where he saw Allura for the first time since the fight.

She was wearing her royal gown, and her curly white hair was down, but styled in a different way. A waterfall braid, you think it's called.

She's standing facing the inside of a locked cell. The door is made up of a strong metal and has intricate designs engraved into it that you can't see quite well. You tell Lotor to go to her and watch silently as they interact.

She doesn't turn to face him, just keeps staring straight ahead at the door. She is the first to talk, though. His eyes doesn't stray off the side of her face as she says, " Behind this door is a vault, and inside that vault is a ice statue with your mother inside it."

He doesn't look surprised. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

She ignores him. "Today- in a few hours, actually- you will be transported to the Kral Zera to once again claim the throne as Galra emperor."

"If I could take it all back, I would."

"After you obtain the position as emperor again, you will rule the Galra empire and work alongside Voltron and the Blade of Marmora to keep the universe safe, including all its people. Including Alteans."

"Have the Alteans come to know how wonderful you are? Do they worship you?"

She looks at him, face blank but blue eyes stone cold. "Voltron will be heading to the planet Earth to rebuild the Castle of Lions. You will stay here with the Blade watching over you, and if we hear anything of you going traitor, we won't hesitate to put you with your mother, do you understand?"

"I understand."

 **.**

There was a perfectly timed timeskip so you didn't have to bother with all the pleasantries or political stuff. Galzack completely fucking disappears, and no one in the Blade know who anyone is talking about when asked about him. That's proof enough to the paladins that everything you said was real. Lotor claims the throne and says goodbye to his mother using only a long, dead stare.

The original paladins-the Galaxy Garrison kids- and you and Coran and Allura, as well as Keith's wolf and his mother, all make your way to Earth. It takes weeks, maybe even months, for them, but for you it only takes a few seconds. Everytime you wake up from a time skip during the ride, you tell Gyro about it, and he says he's able to tell when you are actually there or not based on how you talk and stand. You stutter, he says, when you talk. You repeat words, correct yourself, like a normal human. You move around and observe. But then sometimes you go completely still, you barely blink, you don't talk at all except to make some grunt, and that's when he knows you aren't truly there.

A cry of excitement grabs your attention. It's Hunk. "We're here! We're finally here!" Earth is in the distance and coming closer and closer. Cries of joy start racking out of the Galaxy Garrison kids, and the lions all race toward the big blue and green planet. You laugh with them with joy in your fictional heart. As you draw closer, you notice something though. The earth is replaced by a white circle, as if it had been cut out of a picture. You squint to see the lines of text as to read the story, but there's nothing there. It's just white. You look at the scrollbar on your device's screen and see you're nearing the end of the chapter.

"Uh, what is that?" Hunk asks, voice turning timid. "Are you guys seeing that?"

"What happened to Earth?" Lance exclaimed.

"It was fine just a second ago!" Pidge said, panic rising within all of them.

Your eyes go wide as realization hits you. "I… I think I know what it is.." You trail.

"What?" Lance and Hunk ask in unison over the com. Keith is looking right at you, along with Krolia, Gyro, and Shiro.

You take a deep breath, feeling your throat start to burn and your eyes start to water dramatically. "It's the last page." You don't know why you feel like crying, some of you. You're not a cryer. You don't know what you should be crying about. It's just a fanfiction after all, right? Right? "I have to go. This is it, you guys.." Your voice trembles and you cover your mouth, slightly embarrassed. Gyro and Shiro are looking at you with the utmost concern, not fully understanding you. To your surprise, Keith is the first to envelop you in an embrace. You let a few tears slip onto his shoulder, feeling uncomfortable and a bit guilty, but another part of you happy and fulfilled. You almost forget to hug him back and do it at the last second, patting his back somewhat awkwardly, before wrapping your arms around him in return. For some reason, he's incredibly taller than you. Shiro joins in second, and then Gyro last.

"What's going on in there?" Lance asks, feeling left out. "You guys better not be hugging in there! Hey! I want one too!"

"I'll give you air hugs!" You say as they all pull away, your tone shrill and breaking. "We have to end it here. It's time to say goodbye.."

"What?" Hunk asks in disbelief.

"Reader, tell us what's happening!" Allura pleads.

"The book ends here," you say and catch Gyro's torn face. "I have to go. _We_ have to go."

 _Voltron is seriously ending, isn't it?_

 _Maybe in a few years they'll make another one. Like, a new reboot._

 _Or you can read the comics._

 _No! It's not the same!_

 _It really ain't._

"Go towards it." you order, and after a few seconds of hesitation, they do. "Goodbye, you guys. I love you. You all taught me so much, and I had so much fun! Really, you've helped me through a lot."

"Reed? Reed!" Lance's voice is the last sound you hear.

 **.**

The whiteness they flew into turns into clouds and all together they can see land, a city, some dusty plain right next to it. They land on the ground and Keith looks behind him and sees that they're gone. Reed is gone. _You_ are gone.

You can still see it, see Hunk say something with complete wonder and disbelief on his face, a smile starting to bloom, see Keith look behind him, searching for you, standing up and turning in circles looking for you, then bursting out the door to the hall. Gyro is frozen in place, eyes wide and meat hand holding onto his prosthetic, trying to support himself. Shiro looks around too, his eyes wide and panicked, until he sees his twin and tries to comfort him. Lance is smiling a bit as Hunk raises his arms into the air and Pidge whoops, but his smile starts to fade at the lack of any sound coming from Keith or Shiro, or... _you_ for that matter.

He calls for you over the com, but you don't answer. Pidge and Hunk make their way outside their lions. Hunk kisses the dirt ground, then spits. Lance is still calling for you, and then Allura does too, getting worried. Coran puts a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head and leading her outside with everyone else.

Keith rushes outside, is stopped by a grinning Hunk, whose grin starts to fade as he sees the complete and utter panic on his face. Keith pushes away from him without force, and calls your name. Hunk looks like he's finally realized, and so does Pidge. Hunk joins in on calling for you, and so does Allura when she gets outside. Pidge runs into the lions, searching for you, you guess, and Krolia comes out holding Gyro with Shiro coming out behind her.

No one answers.

They all look up when they hear the sound of engines coming their way, Lance just making his way out of the red lion, and overhead, a ship flies by them, followed closely by a few others. They immediately identify the symbols on the ships, all of them dawning the logos representing the Galaxy Garrison.

* * *

It really was a nice ride. You guys have all be so supportive, thank you!  
Next week, the week of the 17th, i will not be on the interwebs. I will be reading a lot, getting into the Spiderman comics, so I won't be checking comments, which i rarely get anyway XD but yeah that's all folks. Pray you enjoyed it. Go check out my big hero 6 fic if you want idk.


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